UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


WHY  THERE  ARE  VAGRANTS 

A  STUDY 

Based  upon  an  Examination  of 
One  Hundred  Men 


REV.  FRANK  CHARLES  LAUBACH,  M.A. 

Submitted  in  Partial  fulfillment  of  the  requirements  for  the  Degree 

of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  the  Faculty  of  Political 

Science,  Columbia  University 


NEW  YORK,   1916 


WHY  THERE  ARE  VAGRANTS 

A  STUDY 

Based  upon  an  Examination  of 
One  Hundred  Men 


REV.  FRANK  CHARLES  LAUBACH,  M.A. 

Submitted  in  Partial  Fulfillment  of  the  requirements  for  the  Degree 

of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  the  Faculty  of  Political 

Science,  Columbia  University 


NEW  YORK,   1916 


cr 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PARTI 


DEFINITION  AND  DESCRIPTION 
CHAP.  PAGE 

I.     Introduction 5 

II.     Where  and  How  the  Study  Was  Made lo 

PART  II 
individual  factors  leading  to  vagrancy 

III.  Moral   Disqualifications   for   Work  and   for 

Thrift   25 

IV.  Temperamental   Disqualifications   for  Work 

and  for  Thrift 40 

V.     Mental  Disqualifications  for  Work  and  for 

Thrift   48 

VI.     Physical  Disqualifications  for  Work  and  for 
I?  Thrift   60 

c 


PART  III 
social  factors  leading  to  vagrancy 

VII.  Vagrancy  and  the  Family 67 

VIII.  Vagrancy  and  Economic  Maladjustments  ....  72 

IX.  Vagrancy  and  Misapplied  Philanthropy 82 

X.  The  Effect  of  Governmental  Laxity 95 

PART  IV 

summary  and  conclusion 

XI.     Measures  for  the  Prevention  of  Vagrancy  .  .  .    108 
Bibliography 124 


(3) 


205342 


PART  I 
DEFINITION  AND  DESCRIPTION 


CHAPTER  I 

Introduction 

The  public  is  slowly  arriving  at  the  conclusion  that  the 
subject  of  vagrancy  is  worthy  of  careful  study,  yet  only  persons 
in  close  contact  with  the  situation  realize  that  it  is  becoming 
more  critical.  For  years  the  embers  of  social  hatred  have  been 
smouldering  in  the  vagrant  class,  but  not  until  recently  has  the 
fact  seemed  ominous."  At  last  the  world  of  the  "hoboes"  has 
begun  to  attract  notice  in  the  front  pages  of  the  newspapers. 
It  is  learning  how  to  advertise,  how  to  make  demands.  Its 
power  is  increasing,  not  only  because  its  population  is  greater,  _ 
but  because  its  members  are  learning  how  to  work  together 
to  produce  results. 

Judging  from  the  number  killed  annually  in  stealing  rides 
on  the  railroads,  the  late  Edmund  Kelly'  estimated  that  there 
are  approximately  500,000  tramps  in  the  United  States.  In 
addition  to  this  particular  class  there  are  thousands  who  remain 
in  and  about  large  cities  from  year  to  year,  seldom  or  never 
trespassing  on  the  railroads.  How  pernicious  the  influence  of 
this  vast  army  of  vagrants  might  become,  should  the  class 
struggle  develop,  is  suggested  by  the  following  description  of  con- 
ditions just  before  the  French  Revolution:' 

"Vagabonds,  the  rebellious  of  all  classes,  'baton-car- 
riers', mangy,  scurfy,  emaciated  and  savage,  these  were 
begotten  by  the  abuses  of  the  system,  and  upon  every  social 
sore  they  multiplied  like  vermin.  Already  in  1752,  not  far 
from  Paris,  there  were  assembled  fifty  or  sixty,  all  armed 
for  war,  comporting  themselves  like  a  foraging  party  in 
good  order,  infantry  at  the  center  and  cavalry  at  the 
wings.  They  inhabited  a  forest  where  they  had  an  enclos- 
ure entrenched  and  guarded,  and  paid  scrupulously  for  all 


'  Elimination  of  the  Tramp,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  N.  Y. 
'  Taine,  "L'Ancien  Regime",  Livre  Cinquieme,  Chapitre  III. 

(5) 


6  iriiy  Then'  Arc   I'agnmls  —  A  Study 

they  took  for  their  living.  .  .  .  The  population  sym- 
pathized with  the  brigands  against  the  police.  They  re- 
late the  exploits  of  Mandrin  in  1754,  how  his  troop  of 
sixty  men  brought  packages  of  contraband  and  despoiled 
the  deputy,  how  his  expedition  lasted  nearly  a  year,  how 
he  entered  twenty-seven  villages  without  resistance,  how 
he  delivered  their  prisoners  and  sold  their  merchandise;  it 
was  necessary,  in  order  to  conquer  him,  to  establish  a 
camp  and  send  2000  men ;  they  could  take  him  only  by 
treason,  and  even  today  the  peasant  families  are  proud  of 
his  parentage  and  declare  that  he  was  a  liberator. 
No  symptom  is  more  grave  than  when  the  people  prefer 
the  enemies  of  the  law  to  the  defenders  of  the  law,  for  then 
r^_,*  society  begins  decomposition  and  worms  develop. 
■  /  Adding  to  these  true  brigands,  assassins  and  thieves,  Mer- 
cier  estimated  that  France  had  an  army  of  more  than 
10,000  brigands  and  vagabonds. 

"Twenty-five  years  before  the  revolution  it  was  noth- 
ing unusual  to  see  fifteen  or  twenty  fall  upon  a  farm  for 
a  night's  lodging,  intimidate  the  farmer,  and  demand  from 
him  all  they  pleased.     .     .     . 

"The  starving  and  the  marauders  all  marched  to- 
gether and  necessity  made  itself  the  accomplice  of  crime. 
Thieves,  convicts,  rogues  of  every  species,  'it  was  these 
who,  in  the  insurrection,  were  the  advance  guard,  and  in- 
cited the  people  to  ultimate  violence.'  After  the  pillage  of 
the  house  of  Reveilon  in  Paris,  it  was  observed  that,  'among 
about  forty  of  the  rogues  taken,  there  was  not  one  who 
had  not  been  previously  taken  by  justice  and  whipped  or 
marked.'  In  the  whole  revolution  the  dregs  of  society 
mounted  to  the  surface.  Such  were  the  leaders  or  super- 
numeraries of  the  Revolution,  at  six  francs  per  head,  be- 
hind whom  the  people  saw  fit  to  march." 

One  cannot  read  this  description  without  being  reminded 
of  the  "Hoboes'  Convention",  the  mobs  directed  by  I.  W.  W. 
leaders,  the  invasions  of  churches  and  hotels,  the  alarming  in- 
crease in  bomb  throwing  and  dynamiting,  and  the  increasing 
number  of  people  without  property  or  who  are  living  from 
hand  to  mouth. 

The  great  social  reforms  which  already  characterize  our 
age  and  which  promise  to  become  still  more  radical  in  the  near 


Based  on  E.vaiiiiiintion  of  One  Hundred  Men  7 

future,  may  be  brought  aliout  tlirough  peaceful  evolution  or 
by  violeiU  revolution.  At  present  no  one  is  able  to  predict  with 
certainty  that  a  bloody  revolution  will  not  come  upon  us.  The 
class  struggle  has  only  just  begun,  and  there  is  as  yet  nb  obvious 
solution  of  the  perplexing  problems  which   it  presents. 

These  manifestations  of  social  unrest  are  products  of  eco- 
nomic conditions,  of  which  equal  opportunity  is  plainly  not  char- 
acteristic. While  men  are  perceiving  the  broad  implications  of 
the  doctrine  of  equality  more  clearly  every  day,  there  is  also 
becoming  daily  more  conspicuous  the  vast  difference  between 
those  who  have  wealth  and  those  who  have  nothing  they  can 
call  their  own.  The  chasm  between  these  two  classes  is  ever 
widening.  Whether,  as  Marx  predicted  would  happen,  the  poor 
are  growing  poorer  or  not,  certainly  the  rich  are  growing  far 
richer,  and  the  poor  are  becoming  more  envious  and  discon- 
tented. The  most  dangerous  class  of  poor  people  is  that  whose 
members  have  no  work  and  cannot  see  where  the  next  meal  is 
coming  from,  who  are  driven  to  dishonesty  or  mendicancy  for 
a  living,  and  whose  hearts  become  fertile  fields  for  seeds  of 
hatred  against  everything  and  toward  everyone  who  is  success- 
ful. When  the  hour  of  reckoning  comes  which  shall  determine 
whether  or  not  we  are  to  have  a  sanguinary  class  struggle,  the 
number  and  power  of  our  vagrants,  who  have  been  trained  by 
years  of  harsh  experience  to  live  lawlessly  and  irresponsibly, 
will  have  much  to  do  with  deciding  our  fate. 

Worthy  labor  movements  are  joined  by  vagrants  who  have 
drunk  the  cup  of  bitterness,  and  who  are  anarchists  at  heart. 
These  men  are  guilty  of  conduct  which  reflects  upon  the  entire 
movement,  and  which  gives  to  the  employer  class  its  excuse  for 
condemning  the  cause  of  labor.  Thus  the  flames  of  class  hatred 
are  fanned  and  the  feeling  of  each  side  that  the  other  is  unjust 
crystallizes  into  conviction.  Vagrants  injure  and  defile  the 
cause  with  which  they  are  connected,  whether  they  are  hired 
by  operators  as  gun-men,  or  commit  depredations  in  the  name 
of  the  International  Workers  of  the  World.  There  is  not  much 
danger  that  the  vagrants  will  ever  rise  up  and  rebel  against 
society  as  a  class,  for  they  are  too  timid  and  too  distrustful  of 


8  IVhy  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

one  another  for  such  a  movement,  but  there  is  reason  for  appre- 
hension because  of  their  influence  in  demoraHzing  movements 
of  worth  to  which  they  may  attach  themselves. 

Legislation  and  public  opinion  today  are  against  the  rich 
parasite.  But  rich  parasites  are  dangerous  and  stand  in  the 
way  of  progress,  the  parasitism  which  is  the  result  of  poverty  is 
a  still  greater  menace  because  from  it  is  bred  the  mobs. 

It  is  true  that  there  have  always  been  beggars,  and  that 
there  was  a  time  when  beggars  were  relatively  far  more  numer- 
ous than  they  are  at  present,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that 
the  same  distinctions  of  caste  are  no  longer  taken  for  granted, 
and  that  a  large  number  of  mendicants  were  such  because  of 
their  religious  vows.  During  the  middle  ages  beggars  were 
content,  and  even  sometimes  happy,  to  be  beggars.  It  seemed 
to  them  that  it  was  their  duty  to  submit  to  the  afflictions  of  the 
Almighty  and  that  rebellion  would  be  impious.  Today  the  sen- 
timent from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  society  is  that  poverty 
is^a  rank  injustice  which  ought  not  to  be  tolerated,  and  which  is 
displeasing  to  God  and  man.  It  is  this  difference  of  spirit  which 
makes  modem  vagrancy  so  dangerous.  It  was  a  combination 
of  this  new  spirit  with  poverty,  in  France,  that  led  to  the  French 
y^  Revolution.     It  is  this  .same  combination  of  the  ideal  of  equal 

rights  with  the  stubborn  fact  of  unequal  opportunity  which  is 
bringing  us  dangerously  near  to  the  explosive  point  in  the 
United  States  today. 

What  is  our  definition  of  vagrancy?  M.  H.  Dawson^  di- 
vides the  homeless  class  into:  i.  The  nomad  of  the  highway, 
who  is  always  moving.  2.  The  urban  type,  who  haunts  the  side 
streets,  but  never  goes  out  into  the  country.  3.  The  three-quar- 
ters idler  and  one-quarter  worker.  4.  The  fallen  female.  Ben- 
jamin C.  Marsh*  divides  vagrants  into:  i.  Those  who  are  really 
looking  for  work.  2.  "Hobo  mechanics",  who  lose  their  work 
periodically  through  debauches.  3.  Beggars.  4.  Yeggmen,  who 
beg  and  steal. 


'  Society's  Attitude  to  the  Tramp,  Fortnightly  Review,  Vol.  74,  p.  953. 
'  Causes    of   Vagrancy    and    Methods    of    Eradiction,    Annals    Amer. 
Academy  Political  and  Social  Science,  Vol.  23,  p.  445. 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men  9 

Funk    and    Wagnall's    New    Standard    Dictionary    defines 
"vagrant"  as  follows: 

"i.  A  person  without  a  settled  home;  an  idle  wan- 
derer :  a  beggar ;  vagabond ;  tramp.  2.  A  roving  person ; 
rambler;  wanderer.  3.  Laiv:  A  person  who  wanders  from 
place  to  place,  begging,  or  living  without  labor  or  visible 
means  of  support. 

"By  various  statutes  the  term  vagrant  is  made  to  em- 
brace idle  and  disorderly  persons,  rogues  and  vagabonds, 
unlicensed  peddlers,  common  prostitutes  publicly  behaving 
in  a  riotous  and  disorderly  manner,  persons  making  fraud- 
ulent pretenses  to  obtain  alms,  fortune  tellers  and  such  as 
use  any  craft  or  device  by  palmistry  or  otherwise  to  de- 
ceive or  impose  upon  people,  persons  who  wilfully  refuse 
or  neglect  to  support  their  families,  so  that  they  become 
a  public  charge,  persons  indecently  exposing  themselves, 
tramps,  persons  escaping  from  legal  confinement,  etc." 

In  Europe  the   word   "vagabond"    is  universally   used   in- 

.  stead  of  our  word  "vagrant".     When  Americans  use  the  word 

"vagabond"  they  usually  mean  to  express  more  disapprobation, 

and  more  of  the  idea  of  worthlessness  than  when  the  word 

"vagrant"  is  used. 

In  this  study  the  word  "vagrant"  is  used  in  the  broad  legal 
sense  expressed  in  the  above  definition.  It  includes  those  who 
are  spoken  of  as  "hoboes",  "down-and-outs",  "bums",  "beg- 
gars", "driftwood",  "pan-handlers",  "homeless  men"  and 
"tramps".  Some  vagrants  never  leave  the  city,  yet  they  are 
homeless  and  wander  from  one  part  of  the  city  to  another,  man- 
aging to  keep  out  of  jail  and  make  a  living.  Others  are  true 
"globe-trotters",  never  remaining  in  one  town  more  than  a  few 
days  or  weeks,  except  in  extremely  cold  weather. 

Aside  from  the  fact  that  vagrants  are  homeless  men,  there 
are  two  other  respects  in  which  they  are  peculiar.  They  do  not 
work  steadily  in  one  place,  and  they  do  not  save  money — that  is 
to  say,  they  are  more  or  less  idle,  and  they  are  thriftless.  They 
differ  from  other  tourists  in  the  matter  of  their  mode  of  trav- 
eling and  making  expenses.  They  do  not  depend  upon  finan- 
cial resources,  for  they  seldom  have  any,  but  upon  their  ability 


lo  ll'hy  There  Are   Vagrants  —  A  Study 

to  make  the  public  pay  their  travelling  expenses,  or  transport 
them  free  of  charge — usually  the  latter. 

The  question:  "Why  are  some  men  vagrants?"  will,  there- 
fore, be  almost  completely  answered  when  we  have  determined 
why  men  do  not  work  long  in  one  place,  and  why  they  do  not 
accumulate  property  or  wealth. 

/The  reasons  for  vagrancy  fall  into  two  general  classes : 
First,  those  bearing  upon  the  character  of  the  individuals  them- 
selves, and,  second,  those  bearing  upon  the  social  conditions  in 
which  they  live.  In  other  words,  the  problem  presents  both  in- 
dividual or  personal  factors,  and  social  or  environmental 
factors. 

Women  vagrants  are  not  dealt  with  in  these  pages,  nor  are 
those  nomadic  families  which  are  found  throughout  the  coun- 
try during  the  summer  months,  and  whose  members  are  com- 
monly called  "g\'psies".  The  summer  vagrant  in  general  is 
not  included  in  this  investigation.  It  is  a  study  of  vagrants  as 
they  appear  in  the  city  during  the  winter,  and  its  purpose  is  to 
learn  why  they  are  what  they  are. 

CHAPTER  II 

Where  and  How  the  Study  Was  Made 

A  woodyard  is  operated  by  the  Charity  Organization  So- 
ciety of  New  York  City.  Men  who  ask  for  assistance  are 
given  a  few  hours  work  in  the  woodyard,  for  which  they  receive 
moderate  compensation.  It  has  been  the  writer's  privilege  to 
study  the  men  as  they  work,  and  to  give  them  a  helping  hand. 
It  was  impossible  to  meet  their  various  needs  without  studying 
their  characters  and  histories,  to  learn  what  causes  lay  at  the 
bottom  of  their  economic  failure.  Only  a  small  percentage  of 
the  men  was  selected  for  observation,  and  these  were  studied  as 
intensively  as  possible.  In  order  to  keep  the  men  at  close 
range  as  long  as  it  was  desirable,  a  dozen  beds  were  provided 
just  back  of  our  ofifices,  and  thus  it  was  possible  to  study  the 
vagrant  while  on  and  off  his  guard,  while  at  rest  and  at  work. 
It  is  customary  to  keep  records  in  institutions  of  confinement, 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Ilnndrcd  Men  ii 

but  few  attempts  have  been  made  to  study  vagrants  under  con- 
ditions of  perfect  freedom  and  good  will.  The  vagrant  as  he 
sees  himself,  and  the  vagrant  as  others  see  him,  are  two  differ- 
ent personalities.  Much  has  been  written  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  vagrant,  and  something  has  been  written  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  theorist  and  the  examiner.  In  the  following  pages 
an  attempt  has  been  made  to  be  severely  just,  without  failing 
in  appreciation  of  the  vagrant  problem.  Almost  all  of  the  in- 
formation is  first-hand,  obtained  from  the  wanderers  them- 
selves, or  from  correspondence  with  their  acquaintances. 

Careful  records  were  made  of  the  men  interviewed.  For 
this  purpose  a  "Homeless  Man  Record  Card",  printed  by  the 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  was  employed.  This  card  is  of  reg- 
ular letter  size,  eight  and  one-half  by  eleven  inches,  and  con- 
tains spaces  for  answering  the  following  questions: 

Surname  Case  No. 

Date         .\ddress  Man's  first  name       Middle  name       Aliases 

Mother's  Maiden  name  Single  Married  Widowed  Divorced  Separated 
Wife's  first  name 

Height        Weight        Hair        Eyes        Nose        Ears        Peculiarities 
School  and  college  education    Business  training  What    Where    How  long 
Left  school     Age        First  position  Where        Chief  occupation        Union 
Began  work   .Age  How  Long  Other  Occupations 

Longest  employment  at  what       Last  employment     How  long    At  what 
Idle        How  long        Date        Largest  monthly  wage  received        At  what 
Last  steady  employment        How  long        At  what 

Employer's  Name  Address  Date-P'rom  To  Wages  Position  Dept 
Foreman  or  boss 

Physical  condition     Mental  cond.      Drinks       Drugs        Vices       Begs 
Good  Good  Moderate  Kind  Occas. 

Poor  Abnormal  Excess       Excess  Reg'ly  No 

No 
Causes  of  disease  and  defects      Medical  opinion     Handicaps 
Facts  regarding  accidents     Date     Place     Fault     Damages     How  spent 
Promise  of  employment 

Penal  History 
From        Name  of  Prison        Jail        Reform  School,  etc.        Offence 

Family  Age  Address 

Wife 

Children  Married  Single 

Institutional  Care 
From 


12  IV hy  Tlicrc  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

Relatives    Friends    Reference        Kinship  or  connection 

How  long  in  America         State         City         Reason  for  coming  to  city 

Sources  of  information 

Date 

Reasons  for  application. 

Treatment      Advice    Clothing    Food    Lodgings    Medical  Aid 
Money  Loan.      Tools       Transportation       Work 

There  were  other  facts  to  be  recorded  regarding  the  pecu- 
liar characteristics  of  each  individual.  All  correspondence  with 
and  regarding  the  men  was  preserved. 

In  the  succeeding  chapters,  the  reader  will  observe  frequent 
allusions  to  a  particular  group  of  one  hundred  men.  These  men 
were  selected  from  the  most  complete  of  our  records,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  tentative  statistical  estimates.  Three  objec- 
tions to  taking  the  estimates  as  final  will  at  once  occur  to  the 
reader.  First,  the  number  of  men  is  too  small.  Second,  in  se- 
lecting only  those  records  which  are  fairly  complete,  the  investi- 
gation eliminates  a  class  of  men  who  shrink  from  investigation. 
Third,  many  of  the  items  are  matters  of  taste  and  opinion,  and 
are  not  measurable  by  precise  standards. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  statistics,  so  far  as  they  go,  owe 
their  chief  merit  to  the  fact  that  I  knew  every  one  of  the  men 
personally  for  periods  ranging  from  a  week  to  a  year,  that  I 
was  by  their  side  while  they  worked,  and  that  I  was  their  friend. 
I  was  enabled  to  gain  much  information  which  would  have  been 
impossible  at  a  first  interview,  and  to  correct  scores  of  the  in- 
accuracies and  deliberate  lies  which  flow  volubly  from  vagrant 
tongues. 

For  convenience  in  making  comparisons  with  other  similar 
studies,  the  statistics  of  this  group  of  one  hundred  men  have 
been  collected  in  the  following  pages  of  this  chapter. 

If  other  equally  intensive  studies  should  be  made  by  men 
placed  in  advantageous  positions  for  observing  vagrants,  the 
sum  of  all  our  studies  ought  to  be  of  great  value.  Standing 
alone,  the  statistics  which  follow  must  be  taken  as  purely  tenta- 
tive and  suggestive,  rather  than  conclusive. 

The  statistics  of  our  one  hundred  men  were  collected  for 
purposes  of  comparison  and  correlation  in  six  pages: 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men 


13 


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ll'Iiy  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Study 


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i6  //7;v  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

NATIONALITY  PERSONALITY 


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Based  on  E.vaiiiination  of  One  Hundred  Men  17 

HEALTH  EDUCATION  HISTORY 


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t8  //7;v  Tlicrc  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

HEALTH  EDUCATION  HISTORY 


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Based  oil  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men 


19 


It  is  at  once  seen  that  many  of  the  questions  answered  are 
purely  matters  of  opinion  and  are  not  conclusive.  This  obvi- 
ous difficulty  is  not  so  serious  as  others  which  do  not  appear 
on  the  surface. 

For  example,  I  fmd  that  I  have  unconsciously  eliminated 
young  men  to  some  extent,  and  that  this  is  likely  to  occur  in 
any  selective  study. 

The  ages  of  18,606  men,  taken  at  random,  at  the  Municipal 
Lodging  House,  compared  with  the  ages  of  my  one  hundred, 
illustrate  this : 

18,606  men. 
43  per  cent. 
46  per  cent. 
1 1  per  cent. 


Under    30   years. 
From  30  to  50  years. 
Over  50  years. 


100  men  at  woodyard. 
31  per  cent. 
58  per  cent. 
13  per  cent. 


A  carefully  selected  group  of  2000  men  investigated  by  a 
score  of  trained  investigators  and  phy.sicians  at  the  Municipal 
Lodging  House  in  February,  19 14,  shows  the  same  unconscious 
elimination  of  the  young.  The  average  age  of  those  2000  was 
36  years,  while  the  average  age  of  my  one  hundred  was  37 
years. 

Siiininary  of  Preceding  Tables 


ATIONALITY 

French 

I 

Natii'e  Born 

70 

Spanish 

I 

Irish  parentage 

16 

Russian 

I 

German  parentage 

7 

Personality 

Yes 

No 

French  parentage 

I 

Childish  or  silly 

34 

66 

English  parentage 

6 

Dependent 

17 

83 

Italian   parentage 

I 

Low  Ideals 

58 

42 

Native  parentage 

40 

Stubborn 

27 

7Z 

Foreign  Born 

30 

Hasty  Temper 

38 

62 

Irish 

13 

Nervous 

28 

72 

Scotch 

I 

Mind  wanders 

29 

71 

English 

4 

Taciturn 

28 

72 

German 

6 

Stupid 

34 

66 

Scandinavian 

I 

False  pride 

29 

71 

Danish 

2 

Repulsive   face 

34 

66 

20 


IVIiy  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 


Personality  Yes    No 

Gray  hair  20  80 

Poor  memory  9  91 

Treacherous  32  68 

Untidy  26  74 

Fihhy  18  82 

Eccentric  33  67 

Sarcastic  1 7  83 

Exasperating  32  68 

Pessimistic  22  78 

Jealous  13  87 

Uninteresting  20  80 

Unsociable  27  y2> 

Timid  24  76 

Irresolute  27  73 

Rude  I 7  83 

Vulgar  15  85 

Habits 

Bad  Alcoholic  48  52 

Steady  drinker  45  55 

Periodical    drinker      21  79 

Moderate  drinker       16  84 

Abstainer  i  99 
Lied   about  drink   at 

first  interview  54  46 

Drug  user  8  92 

Beggar  20  80 

Liar  45  55 

Wanderlust  55  45 

Lazy  56  44 

Slow  20  80 

Listless  40  60 

Lacking  punctuality    30  70 

Inaccurate  19  81 

Pervert  27  j:^ 

Thief  8  92 

Hypocrite  23  yj 


Habits 

Yes 

No 

Immoral 

30 

70 

Scandal-monger 

13 

87 

Profane 

15 

85 

Occupation 

Transient  labor 

29 

71 

Drivers 

15 

85 

Farm  Hands 

10 

90 

Stable  Hands 

2 

98 

Sailors 

6 

94 

Longshoremen 

3 

97 

Clerical 

14 

86 

Electricians 

3 

97 

Dish  Washers 

6 

94 

Saloonkeepers 

2 

98 

Cooks 

3 

97 

Carpenters 

3 

97 

Firemen 

3 

97 

Painters 

3 

97 

Iron  and  steel  work- 
ers 7  93 
Soldiers  5  95 
Janitors  3  97 
Other  skilled  10  90 
Other  unskilled  14  86 
"Jack-of-all"  21  79 
Obsolete  trades             2  98 

(Note:  Many  of  the  above 
men  had  two  or  more  trades.) 

Religion 

Catholic  46  54 
Protestant  40  60 
Claimed  active  mem- 
bership 3  97 
No  religion  13  87 
Skeptic                             I  99 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men 


21 


Health 

Yes 

No 

Education 

Yes 

No 

Tubercular 

7 

93 

Collegiate 

I 

99 

Venereal 

26 

74 

Business 

8 

92 

Bronchial 

4 

96 

Professional 

I 

99 

Feeble 

14 

86 

Broken  English 

6 

94 

Feeble-minded 

29 

71 

Deformed 

4 

96 

History 

Senile 

16 

84 

Drink  at  home 

26 

74 

Maimed 

14 

86 

Father  drank 

45 

55 

Malnutrition 

17 
16 

87 

Mother  drank 

17 

83 

Exposure  victims 
Neuritis 

83 
84 

Wife  drank 
Single 

13 
38 

87 
62 

Poor  sight 

9 
I 

91 
99 

Widower 

14 

86 

Poor  hearing 

Desertions 

26 

74 

Impediment  in  speech  2 
Other  diseases               6 

98 

94 

M  a  r  i  t  a  1      relation 
doubtful                    22 

78 

Physically  sound 
Mentally  perfect 

22> 

28 

77 

72 

Orphan  at  16 
City  raised 
Village  raised 

59 
63 
19 

41 

81 

Education 

Farm  raised 

6 

94 

Illiterate 

19 

81 

Orphan  homes 

12 

88 

Little  education 

20 

80 

Ex-convict 

12 

88 

Common  school 

28 

72 

Parents  autocratic 

25 

75 

High  school 

23 

77 

Though  many  of  the  questions  in  the  original  question- 
aire  have  been  omitted,  there  are  in  the  above  charts  sufficient 
kinds  of  data  for  some  five  hundred  statistical  associations. 
In  the  great  majority  of  cases  the  number  of  instances  is  too 
small  to  be  of  any  value  standing  alone.  For  purposes  of 
comparison  with  other  similar  studies  these  associations  would 
have  value. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  impossibility  of  accepting  con- 
clusions derived  from  so  small  a  number  of  instances  let  us 
compare  Nationality  with  Hasty  Temper. 


Hasty  Temper 

24 

34  per  cent. 

li 

8 

61  percent. 

it 

I 

100  per  cent. 

it 

I 

25  per  cent. 

a 

3 

50  per  cent. 

(( 

0 

0 

ti 

0 

0 

ti 

I 

50  per  cent. 

ii 

0 

0 

ti 

0 

0 

it 

0 

0 

22  Why  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

Association  of  Hasty   Temper  zvith  Nationality. 

Number.     Percentage. 
Natives   with 
Irish 
Scotch 
English 
German 
Italian 

Scandinavian 
Danish 
French 
Spanish 
Russian 

Here  the  numbers  are  too  small  to  have  statistical  value.  If 
ten  or  more  men  were  each  to  make  a  similar  study  and  the 
sum  of  their  conclusions  were  obtained  we  might  gain  some 
interesting  suggestions  as  to  the  correlation  of  nationality  and 
hasty  temper.  It  would  be  safer  to  depend  upon  the  conclusions 
of  several  investigators,  particularly  on  questions  like  those 
given  under  Personality,  Habits,  and  Health,  for  the  reason  that 
these  questions  so  closely  touch  differences  of  standard  and  taste. 

A  partial  list  of  associations — positive  or  negative — which 
would  be  valuable  if  the  number  of  instances  were  sufficiently 
great,  is  as  follows : 

Age  with  Childishness,  nervousness,  taciturnity,  stupidity, 
pride,  gray  hair,  memory,  untidiness,  filth,   eccentricity,  pessi- 
mism, sociability,  timidity,  irresolution,  rudeness,  vulgarity  and 
stubbornness. 
Nationality  with  each  of  the  above. 

Bad  Alcoholism  with  each  of  above  items  under  "Personality". 

Drug  user  " 

Wanderlust  " 

Immorality  " 

Occupation  " 

Religion  " 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men 


23 


Health    with  each  of  alxjvc  items  under  "PersonaHty". 
Education  " 

City,  village  and  farm  raised     " 
Parents  autocratic  " 


Age  with  Bad  Alcoholism,  use  of  drugs,  begging,  wander- 
lust, slowness,  laziness,  inaccuracy,  stealing,  immorality,  gossip- 
ing and  profanity. 

Nationality    with    each    of    the    above    items    under    "Habits". 

Occupation 

Religion 

Health 

Education 

Drink  in  early  home 

Father  drank 

Mother  drank 

Wife  drank 

Marital  relation 

Orphan 

City,  village  and  farm  raised 

Ex-convict 

Parents  autocratic 

Health  with  each  of  the  items  under  "Occupation". 

Occupation  with  Education. 

Religion  " 

Health  with  father  and  mother  drank 

Health  with  ex-convict. 

Health  with  city,  z'iilage  and  farm  raised. 

Education  with  drink  in  early  home. 

Education  with  father  and  mother  drank. 

Education  with  orphan. 

Education  with  city,  village  and  farm  raised. 

Education  with  ex-convict. 

Vakiable  statistics  from  other  sources  which  serve  to  throw 
light  upon  the  above  questions,  will  be  found  in  appropriate  places 
in  succeeding  chapters.    The  facts  regarding  the  lives  of  the  one 


24  //7;_v  There  .Ire   Wujrants  —  A   Studv 

hundred  men  need  not  be  given  here,  as  the  more  important  of 
them  win  be  used  to  support  the  arguments  which  will  appear 
later. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  only  illustrations 
taken  from  these  one  hundred  men  were  employed.  The  books 
mentioned  in  the  bibliography  at  the  end  of  this  volume  were 
useful  secondary  sources  of  information. 

Probably  the  most  valuable  source  of  information  outside 
my  experience  at  the  woodyard  was  an  examination  of  1488  men 
at  the  Municipal  Lodging  House  during  March,  1914.  Each  of 
the  men  appeared  before  a  trained  social  worker  and  a  physician, 
and  every  tenth  man  was  given  the  Binet  test  to  determine  his 
mental  condition.  This  investigation  had  the  advantage  of 
covering  a  large  number  of  cases,  and  the  element  of  bias  was 
eliminated  through  the  employment  of  several  investigators. 
Since  the  interviews  were  for  only  a  few  minutes  each,  and  were 
compulsory  for  all  men  selected,  there  were  no  doubt  many 
errors  of  judgment  on  the  part  of  the  investigators,  and  multi- 
tudes of  deliberate  lies  on  the  part  of  the  men  under  examina- 
tion; yet  this  examination  stands  as  perhaps  the  most  compre- 
hensive attempt  to  determine  the  facts  about  homeless  men  that 
has  yet  been  made.  Unfortunately,  the  complete  results  were 
not  available  for  use  in  this  book,  but  preliminary  reports  have 
been  used  many  times. 


Based  on  Examinalion  of  One  Hundred  Men 


PART  II 
INDIVIDUAL  FACTORS  LEADING  TO  VAGRANCY 


CHAPTER  III 

Moral  Disqualifications  for  Work  and  i--or  Thrift 

Our  study  of  the  individual  factors  in  the  making  of  vag- 
rants falls  naturally  into  four  divisions : 

1.  Moral    disqualifications    for    work    and    for   thrift. 

2.  Temperamental    "  "        "         "         "         " 

3.  Mental 

4.  Physical 

The  experience  of  large  numbers  of  social  workers  proves  ■ 
that  it  is  impossible  exactly  to  classify  individuals.  Every  man 
is  played  upon  by  a  nuiltitude  of  forces,  both  from  within  and 
from  without,  and,  as  Tennyson  says  of  Ulysses,  is  a  part  of  all 
that  he  has  seen.  For  this  reason,  percentages,  showing  so  much 
moral  influence,  so  much  temperamental  influence,  and  so  much 
environmental  influence,  are  unsafe  and  misleading. 

It  is  possible,  however,  to  determine  major  and  minor  causes 
at  work  in  shaping  the  problem  of  vagrancy;  to  discuss  what 
factors  are  personal  or  ethical  and  what  are  social. 

The  more  closely  one  studies  the  character  of  the  vagrant, 
the  greater  importance  moral  influences  are  seen  to  assume. 
Bad  habits  are  often  the  last  thing  which  a  man  is  willing  to 
confess  to  one  whose  attitude  toward  him  he  thinks  may  depend 
upon  his  good  morals,  because  he  fears  that  if  he  lets  his  bad 
habits  be  known  he  will  be  jeopardizing  his  chances  of  getting 
work  or  help.  Moreover,  a  man  with  bad  habits  is  forever 
resolving  that  he  will  soon  break  them.  It  is  necessary,  there- 
fore, to  have  more  than  the  man's  own  word,  in  order  to  find  out 
the  weaknesses  of  his  character.  An  inexpert  interviewer  of 
vagrants,  therefore,  almost  invariably  misses  the  most  vital  moral 


26  Why  There  .-Ire   J'agrants  —  A   Study 

factors  which  have  led  to  the  man's  condition.  Only  one  who 
has  taken  the  time  and  the  pains  to  probe  deeply  into  each  man's 
history  realizes  the  extent  to  which  the  average  man  of  this 
class  is  corrupted  by  vice  and  crime,  and  how  great  must  be  the 
effort,  both  of  himself  and  of  others,  if  he  is  to  be  pulled  out  of 
the  mire. 

Under  the  moral  factors  we  shall  consider:  (a)  vices,  (b) 
crimes,   (c)  untrustworthiness. 

The  vices  which  may  play  the  largest  part  in  disqualifying 
men  for  work  are:  (i)  drunkenness,  (2)  drug  habit,  (3) 
sensuality,   (4)  gambling. 

The  Committee  of  Fifty  learned  by  comparing  the  esti- 
mates of  thirty-three  Charity  Organizations  that  22.J  per  cent, 
of  poor  males  are  so  because  of  drunkenness.  A  comparison  of 
reports  from  almshouses  gave  the  information  that  42  per  cent, 
of  males  were  inmates  because  of  their  own  drunkenness. 

The  Municipal  Lodging  House  investigation  resulted  in  the 
discovery  that  44.4  per  cent,  of  the  men  investigated  drank  to 
excess,  while  42.9  per  cent,  drank  moderately.  From  the  evi- 
dence before  him,  Mr.  Whiting,  Superintendent  of  the  Lodging 
House,  estimated  that  "30  per  cent,  had  entered  the  life  of 
vagrancy  through  the  saloon".  It  is,  of  course,  inaccurate  to 
speak  of  all  of  the  men  who  are  staying  at  the  Municipal  Lodging 
House  as  "vagrants".  Great  numbers  of  them  were  out  of 
work  only  temporarily,  and  could  be  called  vagrants  only  in  a 
very  unrestricted  sense  of  the  word. 

My  own  experience  with  vagrants  has  convinced  me  that 
liquor  has  been  an  exceedingly  important  factor  in  their  undoing 
in  the  large  majority  of  cases.  Out  of  one  hundred  vagrants 
whom  I  studied  as  carefully  as  possible,  eighty-five  are  now 
slaves  to  rum  to  such  an  extent  that  they  crave  it  as  food  and 
could  break  away  from  it  only  by  the  greatest  struggle.  I  pre- 
fer not  to  estimate  how  many  of  these  men  were  originally  driven 
'to  vagrancy  by  liquor.  One  fact  is  undeniable.  Liquor  is  now 
a  principal  factor  in  keeping  them  in  that  condition. 

We  are  not  able  as  yet  to  make  more  than  a  very  rough 
estimate  as  to  the  number  of  men  who  are  now  vagrants  who 


Based  oil  Ilxaniination  of  One  Hundred  Men  27 

never  would  have  fallen  into  that  life  if  they  had  not  used 
liquor.  Students  of  the  problem  differ  so  radically  in  their  calcu- 
lations that  the  ratios  given  b)-  them  vary  from  5  jier  cent,  to  95 
per  cent.  There  is  apparently  too  much  prejudice  for  us  to 
accept  the  judgment  of  any  one  man  or  body  of  men  on  the 
question. 

A  study  of  the  ways  in  which  liciuor  may  lead  to  vagrancy 
by  causing  men  to  lose  their  positions,  shows  that  it  is  often  an 
indirect  or  contributory  cause,  though  its  influence  may  not  be 
discovered  immediately. 

There  are  hundreds  of  jobs  lost  through  sprees,  of  which 
the  following  cases  are  illustrative : 

A.  H.  is  a  man  of  extraordinary  ability  as  a  sales  manager. 
When  sober  he  is  saving  and  cleanly.  Periodically  he  goes  on  a 
spree,  loses  his  employment,  spends  all  his  money  and  pawns  his 
clothes.  For  weeks  he  is  transformed  from  a  useful  citizen  into 
a  vagrant.  He  has  been  growing  steadily  worse  for  the  last 
fifteen  years,  and  is  now  divorced  from  his  wife,  who  had  faith 
in  him  as  long  as  she  could. 

This  story  is  descriptive  of  scores  of  cases.  No  profession 
or  trade  is  free  from  members  who  are  first  rate  in  every  respect 
but  for  the  fact  that  they  will  "break  loose"  every  now  and  then, 
throw  up  their  jobs  and  indulge  in  prolonged  debauches. 

Many  men  who  are  amiable  when  sober  are  altogether  too 
belligerent  to  maintain  peaceful  social  relations  when  using 
liquor.  They  repent  when  their  jobs  are  gone  and  the  mischief 
has  been  done.  But  after  they  have  exhausted  the  patience  of 
their  acquaintances  they  are  obliged  to  beg  for  work  among 
strangers  and  are  without  recommendations.  The  man  who  is 
reduced  to  this  extremity  must  usually  take  a  poor  position  and 
frequently  can  find  none. 

A  painter,  D.  G.  by  name,  is  a  case  in  point.  He  works 
along  contentedly  for  several  weeks  until  he  feels  a  desire  for 
drink.  After  he  has  had  a  few  drinks  he  feels  dissatisfied  with 
everything  and  quits  work  in  disgust. 

C.  H.  was  a  civil  engineer,  but  was  discharged  because  liquor 
had  rendered  him  unreliable.     He  drifted  into  unskilled  labor, 


28  Why  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Sliuiy 

then  took  up  dish-washing,  and  at  length  found  even  that  un- 
available. 

Even  when  men  are  as  capable  as  ever,  the  fact  that  they 
drink  may  cause  their  removal  from  good  positions  and  start 
them  downward.  C.  P.  taught  school  for  twenty-three  years, 
but  because  he  was  drinking  too  freely  he  was  compelled  by  dis- 
satisfied patrons  to  give  up  his  school.  He  went  away  among 
strangers,  became  a  handy  man  in  a  hotel  and  ultimately  sank 
into  vagrancy. 

In  a  large  number  of  lines  of  business,  drunkenness  is 
recognized  as  dangerous  and  expensive.  Railroads  are  becom- 
ing more  strict  in  their  rules  concerning  the  use  of  liquor.  The 
American  Car  and  Foundry  Company  announced  that  any  of  its 
employees  in  Berwick,  Pa.,  who  signed  a  petition  for  a  liquor 
license,  would  be  discharged. 

Motormen,  conductors,  chauffeurs,  drivers  and  others  who 
are  in  a  position  where  a  false  step  might  mean  disaster,  are 
being  laid  off  every  day  because  they  have  been  caught  drinking. 

Several  bartenders  who  applied  to  us  for  aid  had  been  dis- 
charged because  their  employers  would  not  tolerate  heavy  drink- 
ing behind  the  bar. 

One  of  the  commonest  answers  men  give  to  the  question 
why  they  lose  jobs  is :  "One  of  the  bosses  got  sore  and  fired  me 
for  drinking;  but  I  hadn't  been  drinking  much." 

If  liquor  ever  becomes  unpopular,  the  most  important  reason 
will  be  that  the  working  classes  were  compelled  to  abandon  its 
use  in  order  to  find  jobs. 

We  have  not  discovered  final  causes,  however,  until  we 
know  why  so  many  men  allow  liquor  to  get  such  a  hold  upon 
them.  The  first  reason  which  presents  itself  is,  of  course,  bad 
home  training.  This  will  be  treated  in  connection  with  the 
chapter  on  "Vagrancy  a  Failure  of  the  Family". 

There  is  undoubtedly  a  great  difference  in  the  power  of 
resistance  to  the  excessive  use  of  liquor.  Some  men  are  reduced 
to  drunkenness  in  a  few  years;  others  require  many  years  of 
hard  drinking  to  reduce  them  to  bondage  to  drink ;  while  a  large 
percentage  of  men — indeed  more  than  half  of  them — use  liquor 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men  29 

with  impunity  throughout  their  Hves.  The  power  of  resistance 
varies  in  different  famihes,  and  in  different  races  and  nationali- 
ties. Where  the  father  or  grandfather  was  an  excessive  user  of 
alcoholic  beverages,  his  children  are  very  likely  to  be  intemperate. 
Horsley  and  Sturge  "'  say  that :  "Careful  and  scientific  investiga- 
tion shows  that  the  children  of  inebriates  inherit  a  faulty  organ- 
ization and  an  impaired  type  of  nervous  system,  which  often 
leads  to  their  also  falling  victims  to  the  craving  for  alcohol, 
especially  when  surrounding  social  and  industrial  conditions 
encourage  indulgence  in   its  use. 

"In  order  to  elucidate  the  influence  of  heredity  as  a  direct 
or  indirect  cause  of  inebriety,  a  prolonged  investigation,  lasting 
thirteen  years,  was  undertaken  by  a  committee  of  doctors  in 
America.  .  .  .  Dr.  Crothers,  their  chairman,  reports  that 
the  histories  of  1744  cases  of  inebriety  have  been  obtained,  which 
may  be  classified  as  follows : 

Distinct  history  of  heredity  1080 

Disease,  injury,  shocks,  strains  and  infection  390 

Starvation  and  infection  180 

Exposure,  ignorance  and  mental  contagion  85 

Causes  too  complex  for  classification  9" 

One  of  the  commonest  replies  to  the  question,  why  men 
drink  to  excess,  is  that  they  "don't  know".  Something,  they 
say,  seems  to  possess  them  which  they  cannot  explain.  In  the 
great  majority  of  cases  this  reply  comes  from  men  whose  fathers 
have  been  heavy  drinkers. 

Such  tales  as  the  following  are  common : 

A.  B.  had  three  sons,  all  of  whom  were  unable  to  resist  the 
appetite  for  alcohol.  The  father  had  been  a  heavy  drinker  in 
his  early  days,  using,  as  he  said,  "all  the  liquor  he  could  get  hold 
of".  When  he  saw  the  grip  liquor  had  upon  his  sons  he  stopped 
drinking  entirely,  and  today  he  hates  the  sight  of  drink.  What 
he  was  able  to  do,  his  sons  cannot  do.  They  have  lost  the  power 
of  resistance.     One  of  them  has  died  of  acute  Bright's  disease  as 


'  Alcohol  and  the  Human  Body,  Macmillan  &  Co.,  1908,  p.  339. 


30  iriiy  Tlicrc  An-   I'ayranls  —  A  Study 

the  result  of  excessive  drinking,  the  other  two  are  hopeless 
drunkards. 

F.  O.  is  in  a  sanatorium  for  drunkards.  His  son  carries  to 
the  pawnshop  every  article  of  value  which  he  can  get  in  his 
possession,  and  uses  the  proceeds  for  liquor.  For  years  he  has 
repeatedly  sold  the  shirt  oi¥  his  back  and  the  shoes  off  his  feet. 
His  will  seems  gone.  When  asked  why  he  drinks,  his  reply, 
like  that  of  many  other  men,  is  that  he  does  not  know  the  reason. 
He  thinks  he  must  be  a  Dr.  Jekyl  and  Mr.  Hyde. 

The  father  and  both  the  grandfathers  of  M.  B.  were  heavy 
drinkers.  He  was  taught  by  his  mother  to  hate  the  sight  of 
liquor,  because  she  thought  that  he  might  become  addicted  to 
the  habit.  He  never  drank  until  he  was  twenty  years  of  age. 
At  that  time  he  went  to  work  and  his  fellow-workmen  called  him 
a  "sissy"  because  he  was  an  abstainer.  He  began  to  drink  a  little 
just  to  "show  that  he  was  a  man".  By  the  time  he  was  twenty- 
three  years  of  age,  he  was  turned  out  of  home  a  depraved 
drunkard,  and  has  been  a  "sot"  of  the  worst  type  ever  since. 

The  power  of  resistance  to  the  desire  for  strong  drink  would 
seem  not  to  be  the  same  among  the  different  nationalities.  For 
example,  the  Irish  appear  to  have  a  very  much  larger  percentage 
of  excessive  users  of  liquor  than  the  Italians.  This  may  be 
explained  in  part  by  the  fact  that  the  latter  race  has  acquired  a 
certain  degree  of  immunity  by  hundreds  of  years  of  constant 
usage.  Also  the  kind  of  liquor  consumed  in  each  case  may  have 
something  to  do  with  the  difference  in  the  effect  produced.  The 
Irish  are  more  inclined  to  the  use  of  whiskey  than  to  the  milder 
drinks,  while  the  Germans  use  beer,  the  Italians  use  wine,  and 
the  Hebrews  use  kiimmel.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  while  one- 
fifth  of  the  population  of  New  York  City  is  Hebrew,  there  are 
comparatively  few  Heljrew  drunkards.  On  the  other  hand,  con- 
sidering the  relatively  small  number  of  Englishmen  in  New  York 
City,  it  is  surprising  how  many  English  inebriates  appear  at  the 
woodyard. 

The  custom  of  "treating"  is  said  by  more  than  half  of  the 
hard  drinkers  to  be  the  cause  of  their  intemperance.  It  is  very 
common  to  hear  a  hard  drinking  man  state  that  there  ought  to 
be  a  law  forbidding  people  to  "treat". 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men  31 

A.  N.  declared  that  treating  ought  to  be  a  capital  offense. 
He  would  never  have  become  addicted  to  excessive  liquor,  he 
declared,  if  treating  had  not  practical)'  compelled  him  to  use 
much  more  than  his  appetite  called  for.  After  he  had  acquired 
the  habit  of  using  large  quantities,  he  could  not  find  the  satis- 
faction he  desired  in  moderate  quantities. 

This  testimony  is  almost  identical  with  that  of  Jack  London 
in  his  confession,  called  "John  Barleycorn".  London  declares 
that  it  was  the  attempt  on  his  part,  when  he  was  still  a  boy,  to 
drink  as  much  as  his  comrades,  though  he  disliked  the  taste  of 
liquor,  that  led  to  the  acquisition  of  an  appetite  which  he  would 
now  find  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  break,  if  he  were  to  try. 

E.  W.,  a  splendid  fellow  at  heart,  but  a  vagrant  through  his 
appetite  for  liquor,  says  that  when  he  drank  alone  in  his  younger 
days,  he  never  drank  to  excess,  but  that  when  he  was  with  his 
friends  he  and  the}'  nearly  always  got  drunk.  Though  only 
thirty-two  years  of  age,  he  is  now  so  completely  ruined  by  liquor 
that  a  charming  wife  and  baby,  both  of  whom  he  loves,  but  whom 
he  has  deserted,  have  not  proved  sufficient  to  save  him  from  the 
appetite  which  has  caused  his  downfall. 

The  case  of  J.  B.  deserves  a  place  in  this  list  also.  He  lost 
an  excellent  position  as  engineer  on  the  New  York  Central  Rail- 
road as  a  result  of  drinking,  and  went  into  the  hotel  business. 
He  promised  his  wife  that  he  would  never  drink  another  drop, 
at  the  time  he  opened  his  bar,  but  he  found  it  inexpedient  to 
refuse  to  drink  with  his  customers.  His  wife  mixed  burnt  coffee 
.vith  water,  and  he  drank  this  from  a  special  bottle  of  his  own, 
ivhile  his  customers  drank  whiskey.  When  this  trick  was  dis- 
covered he  had  no  alternative  but  to  use  the  real  thing.  Li  a 
few  years  he  lost  his  business  and  deserted  his  wife.  He  is  today.^ 
a  drunken  vagrant. 

Associating  with  a  fast  crowd  is  one  of  the  quickest  paths 
to  intemperance  a  young  man  can  choose.  There  are  many 
excellent  illustrations  of  the  dangers  of  bad  company,  which  one 
may  find  at  any  street  corner  of  the  slums  of  a  great  city. 

Domestic  infelicity  has  driven  many  a  man  to  drink.  Fre- 
quently it  drives  both  man  and  wife  to  intemperance.     Just  as 


32  Why  There  Arc   J'ogrants  —  A  Study 

frequently  it  is  the  drink  which  produces  the  domestic  trouble. 
In  many  cases  it  is  difficult  to  determine  which  was  cause  and 
which  was  effect. 

C.  F.  never  drank  to  excess  until  his  wife's  death,  but  has 
had  few  solder  days  since.  B.  P.  became  disgusted  because  his 
wife  spent  nearly  all  her  time  with  her  women  friends  and  failed 
even  to  provide  meals  for  her  husband  when  he  came  home  in 
the  evening.  A  bare  table  seemed  to  him  enough  to  drive  any 
one  to  drink.  B.  D.  declared  that  there  was  no  reason  in  the 
world  for  his  using  liquor  excepting  loneliness.  He  had  no 
friends  and  was  frequently  seized  with  fits  of  despondency. 
Drinking  was  the  most  effectual  means  of  reviving  his  drooping 
spirits. 

This  phase  of  the  subject  will  be  given  fuller  consideration 
under  the  chapter  on  "How  Vagrants  are  made  by  Economic 
Conditions". 

It  is  significant  tliat  the  vagrants  who  are  most  intemperate 
say,  in  the  large  majority  of  cases,  that  they  have  been  engaged 
in  one  of  the  following  occupations : 

Trainman,  houseman,  hotelman,  seaman,  painter,  driver, 
entry  clerk,  salesman,  cook,  soldier,  longshoreman,  printer,  tran- 
sient laborer. 

One  man  who  was  engaged  in  the  preparation  of  furs  said 
that  everybody  in  that  business  drinks  in  order  to  endure  the 
odors.  Painters  often  give  the  same  excuse.  Drivers  assert 
that  they  drink  to  keep  their  blood  at  an  even  temperature  sum- 
mer and  winter.  Exhaustion  is  hinted  at  by  many  men  as  a 
contributing  cause. 

The  investigation  at  the  Municipal  Lodging  House  brought 
out  the  interesting  result  which  follows : 

Industrial  factors  dominant — young- — one-fifth  drink  ex- 
cessively. 

Industrial  and  moral  factors  combined — middle  aged — one- 
half  drink  excessively. 

Moral  factors  dominant — getting  old — three-quarters  drink 
excessively. 


Based  on  E.vaiiiinatinn  of  One  Hundred  Men  33 

This  would  seem  to  indicate  that  industrial  conditions 
are  of  importance  in  the  production  of  drunkards.  The  number 
of  men  who  have  received  their  first  downward  impetus  through 
habits  induced  by  conditions  surrounding  them  in  the  day's  work, 
is.  however,  not  to  be  arrived  at  by  means  of  this  rather  crude 
calculation.  Young  men  are  inclined  to  blame  conditions,  rather 
than  themselves,  for  their  misfortunes.  They  would  be  the  last 
to  admit  that  they  drank  excessively,  or  that  drink  had  anything 
to  do  with  their  failure.  Moreover  these  figures  are  based 
largely  upon  the  testimony  of  the  men  themselves. 

In  addition  it  may  be  said,  however,  that  the  evidences  of 
intemperance  are  never  so  apparent  in  young  as  in  old  men.  It 
requires  years  of  debauchery  to  stamp  the  effects  of  liquor  on 
the  face  so  that  all  may  see  them.  A  young  man  may  be  plant- 
ing the  seeds  of  his  ruin  without  realizing  it  himself  and  without . 
giving  an  investigator  any  intimation  that  this  is  the  case. 

The  steps  downward  are  usually  gradual.  By  the  time  the 
victim  of  the  excessive  use  of  liquor  is  at  the  bottom,  he  is  so  far 
in  time  and  circumstance  from  the  experience  of  beginning  to  fall 
that  it  is  hard  for  him  to  give  a  clear  explanation  of  it.  He  may 
have  held  a  responsible  and  lucrative  position  for  months  or 
years  after  he  began  using  liquor.  Then  it  is  probable  that  when 
he  found  himself  losing  grovmd,  he  blamed  everything  else  but 
drink.  With  the  arrival  of  dull  times  it  is  not  easy  for  him  to 
find  the  work  he  wants.  He  must  take  anything  he  can  get, 
which  is  likely  to  be  a  porter's  or  dish-washer's  job.  As  the 
effects  of  liquor  become  more  pronounced  the  class  of  restaurants 
in  which  work  is  obtainable  becomes  less  and  less  desirable.  At 
last  his  work  becomes  unendurable. 

The  following  letter  from  one  of  my  friends,  who  was  at 
one  time  one  of  the  worst  of  drunkards,  tells  briefly  and  strik- 
ingly the  story  as  the  inebriate  usually  views  his  own  history : 

"Speaking  as  a  periodical  drinker,  I  disavow  the  theory 
of  heredity.  "My  study  is  that  inclination  breeds  habit.  As 
a  young  man  I  embarked  as  a  travelling  salesman,  and  being 
thrown  among  those  older  than  myself,  I  was  inclined  to 
follow  in  their  ways;  the  cocktail  as  a  breakfast  appetizer 


-y 


34  JJ'hy  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

became  a  habit.  Extending  hospitalities  to  help  my  trade 
further  strengthened  the  drinking  habit  until  I  became  a 
confirmed  periodical  drunkard.  Finding  myself,  in  such 
periods,  incapable  to  discharge  my  duties,  I  would  resign  my 
position  before  I  was  requested  to  vacate.  Then  to  the  old 
haunts,  and  between  remorse  and  the  old  associates  one 
meets — the  same  old  story.  If  one  wants  to  find  congenial 
companions,  he  seeks  them  at  such  times,  most  naturally,  in 
the  den  of  iniquity,  the  saloon.  If  you  are  known  to  be  a 
good  spender,  delicate  bar-room  courtesy  is  extended,  and 
you  are  king-pin  while  your  money  lasts.  You  are  a  good, 
jolly  fellow  until  you  ask  for  credit :  'Well,  Bill,  I'll  give 
you  this  one  drink.  We  sell  liquor  and  can't  afford  to  give 
it  away.'  This  is  the  period  of  last  extremity  to  the  drinker. 
He  will  barter  honor  and  soul  to  satisfy  his  insatiable  crav- 
ing for  drink,  after  friends  have  been  dunned  to  the  limit 
for  loans,  and  everything  of  value  has  lieen  disposed  of. 
Any  methods,  honest  or  otherwise,  to  procure  money  for 
drink  is  the  all-absorbing  question.  Statistics  prove  the 
majority  of  men  incarcerated  in  penal  institutions  are  there 
through  drink.  There  are  rare  exceptions :  when  the  home 
life  is  not  congenial,  when  the  nagging,  extravagant,  untidy 
or  unfaithful  wife  drives  a  man  to  desperation,  he  yearns 
for  companionship,  and  foolishly  permits  the  saloon  to  allure 
him — another  victim  to  pay  the  toll  for  the  devil.  I  know 
of  several  cases  where  women  have  had  their  husbands 
committed  to  asylums  to  be  rid  of  them,  some  to  get  control 
of  property,  others  to  lavish  their  afifection  upon  another. 
In  conclusion  I  may  add  that  domestic  felicity  is  truly  a 
safeguard  for  men  to  avoid  saloons.  Drunkenness,  crime 
and  insanity  would  be  far  less  common  it  homes  were  made 
the  'Tabernacles'  an  all-wise  Creator  has  intended  them 
to  be." 

Users  of  drugs  are  more  difficult  to  detect  than  inebriates. 
There  is  no  distinctive  odor  to  the  breath  and  no  give-away  color 
on  the  nose.  In  many  instances  nothing  short  of  a  careful  medi- 
cal examination  leads  to  discovery. 

Drug  users  are  nearly  always  disqualified  for  doing  good 
work.  An  excellent  example  of  incapacity  as  the  result  of  drug- 
using  is  that  of  C.  T.  He  came  to  the  woodyard  without  under- 
wear and  with  one  of  his  trouser  legs  torn  about  a  foot  at  the 


Based  on  E.vainiitation  of  One  Hundred  Men  35 

knee.  Upon  being  questioned  he  declared  that  he  had  never 
used  hquornor  tobacco  in  any  form.  After  two  or  three  days 
I  learned  that  for  some  mysterious  reason  he  had  degenerated 
woefully  Nvilhin  a  very  short  period.  He  had  stood  at  the  head 
of  his  class  in  school,  and  had  associated  with  young  people  who 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  him  later.  I  found  him  so  lazy 
that  I  suspected  a  case  of  hook-worm.  The  mystery  cleared 
upon  the  discovery  that  he  was  a  user  of  heroin  and  cocaine.  He 
contracted  the  habit  as  a  result  of  using  remedies  for  nasal 
troubles.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  steadily  going  down  hill 
until  he  is  now  worthless  as  an  employee.  After  staying  at  the 
woodyard  for  three  weeks  he  suddenly  disappeared,  and  nothmg 
has  been  heard  from  him  since. 

We  had  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  tendency  of  "birds 
of  a  feather  to  flock  together"  during  the  time  when  this  young 
man  was  in  our  rooms  at  the  woodyard.  I  had  obtained  the 
confidence  of  one  of  the  men  who  was  constantly  associated  with 
the  other  occupants  of  our  rooms,  and  he  informed  me  that  first 
one  and  then  another  of  the  men  had  been  seen  "sniffing".  AH 
of  them  were  on  intimate  terms  with  the  young  man  described 
in  the  preceding  paragraph.  There  were  seven  of  these  men  m 
all.  Thinking  that  I  would  make  a  grand  coup  I  began  to  make 
inquiries  as  to  the  best  way  to  cure  or  to  dispose  of  them.  Within 
a  week  every  man  had  disappeared.  My  confidant  declares  that 
the  first  young  man,  C.  T.,  secured  the  "happy  dust"  for  the 
others,  and  that  he  had  taught  at  least  one  new  man  in  the  wood- 
yard  how  to  use  the  drug. 

Even  after  we  have  discovered  that  men  are  users  of  drugs 
it  is  difficult  to  determine  just  what  drug  they  are  using.  The 
moment  they  suspect  our  knowledge  of  their  habit  they  disap- 
pear One  man,  however,  was  caught  in  the  act.  While  work- 
ing in  the  woodyard  he  lost  his  pocketbook.  The  foreman  found 
the  pocketbook  and  gave  it  to  the  superintendent.  A  very  ner- 
vous man  came  to  the  superintendent's  office  and  claimed  the 
pocketbook;  he  described  all  the  articles  which  the  pocketbook 
contained,  except  a  hypodermic  needle.  When  the  superin- 
tendent told  him  that  he  had  found  such  a  needle  the  man  broke 


36  Jl'liy  There  .-ire   I'agrants  —  A  Study 

down  and  confessed  that  he  had  contracted  the  habit  while  in 
the  army.  He  had  been  injured  and  was  kept  under  the  influence 
of  morphine  for  a  long  while.  After  he  had  recovered  he  had 
an  extreme  longing  for  something,  but  he  did  not  know  what  it 
was.  One  of  his  comrades  told  him  that  the  drug  which  they 
had  been  giving  him  was  morphine;  he  purchased  some  of  it, 
found  that  it  satisfied  his  longing,  and  has  never  broken  the 
habit  since. 

It  is  a  matter  of  general  knowledge  that  a  large  proportion 
of  the  users  of  drugs  contract  the  habit  through  having  them 
administered  medicinally. 

Recent  exposures  have  brought  to  light  many  secret  dis- 
pensers of  drugs  who  are  using  drugged  candies  and  other  means 
to  teach  school  children  the  drug  habit. 

Sexual  vice,  although  not  universal,  is,  as  might  be  expected, 
very  common  among  homeless  men. 

James  Forbes  "  describes  what  he  calls  the  "Jocker"  a  boy 
enslaved  by  a  tramp  for  immoral  purposes.  "As  he  becomes 
exhausted  by  excesses  he  comes  to  know  more  and  more  the 
peril  and  hollowness  and  misery  of  the  life  he  leads,  and  can  see 
no  possible  way  to  escape  from  it.  He  is  able  to  achieve 
momentary  forget  fulness  only  by  the  use  of  stimulants.  When 
liquor  fails  to  produce  the  effect,  he  often  resorts  to  the  hypo- 
dermic syringe.  Possibly  five  years  after  the  commencement  of 
this  career  he  will  appear  in  the  streets  of  great  cities,  a  complete 
wreck,  morally  and  physically." 

Sexual   degenerates  constitute   the  most  pitiful   and   often 

horrible  class  of  vagrants.     There  are  thousands  of  them.    They 

I     are  so  utterly  inferior  to  a  man  who  has  no  other  vice  than 

alcoholism,  that  it  seems  a  shame  to  put  them  both  in  the  same 

category.     Some  drunkards  are  fine,  likable  men.     The  pervert 

\_  is  far  on  toward  insanity,  and  is  usually  loathsome. 

A  large  majority  of  vagrants  are  found  to  have  venereal 
diseases.  Frequently  the  case  is  so  virulent  as  not  to  be  con- 
cealed and  the  man  is  willing  to  tell  the  whole  story  in  the  hope 


V 


•Mendicancy  Officer  of  C.  O.  S.,  N.  Y.  Charities,  1903,  Vol.  II,  p.  432. 


Based  on  R.vaiiiination  of  One  Hundred  Men  2)7 

of  obtaining  relief.  The  ghastly  eyes  of  a  victim  of  gonorrhoea 
who  has  rulibcd  the  poison  into  his  eyes,  and  the  peculiar  sup- 
purations of  syphilitic  origin,  are  frecjuently  to  be  seen  in  the 
haunts  of  "down  and  outs". 

While  gambling  is  not  so  important  as  the  vices  already 
enumerated,  it  is  unquestionably  a  factor  in  the  downfall  of 
hundreds. 

Such  examples  as  C.  L.  show  that  it  may  sometimes  exist 
as  the  only  cause  of  vagrancy.  This  young  man  seemed  so  dis- 
tinctly superior  to  the  other  men  who  appear  at  the  Charities 
Woodyard  that  I  made  a  special  effort  to  learn  his  story.  He 
said  that  he  was  a  graduate  of  a  Western  university,  but  had 
taken  to  betting  as  his  profession  after  leaving  college.  He  had 
visited  all  the  principal  gambling  centers  of  the  world  at  Monte 
Carlo,  in  India  and  South  America,  at  Goldfield,  Nevada  and 
New  Orleans.  He  had  been  successful  vmtil  he  risked  all  he  had 
on  a  horse  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  lost  his  bet.'  He  was  working 
to  obtain  enough  money  to  get  to  Belmont  Park,  and  assured  me 
that  once  he  got  back  among  his  friends  he  would  be  able  to 
borrow  enough  to  start  gambling  again. 

The  following  testimony  written  by  a  one-time  gambler, 
describes  the  manner  in  which  gambling  may  lead  a  man  to 
financial  ruin  and  crime : 

"Eventually  Frank  and  myself  began  to  gamble,  play- 
ing cards,  horse  races  and  dice  in  saloons.  For  several 
months  I  had  not  been  drinking — the  old,  old  story.  En- 
vironments enchant  temptations.  Frank  and  myself  had 
formed  a  sort  of  partnership  in  our  gambling  ventures.  As 
the  fickle  wheel  of  fortune  goes  we  had  won  and  lost. 
Eventually  the  crisis  came — we  were  financial  bankrupts. 
We  had  to  make  good,  no  matter  how  we  got  it,  to  keep  in 
the  swim  with  our  fast  company.  Up  to  that  time  I  had 
not  been  guilty  of  any  dishonest  transaction.  Frank  sug- 
gested various  manipulations,  and  I  admit  I  readily  and 
freely  cooperated.  The  inevitable;  our  defalcations,  etc., 
discovered.  I  had  ample  time  to  get  away,  and  Frank 
implored  me  to  do  so.  Satiated  with  the  damnable  drink,  to 
forget  past,  present  and  future,  I  existed  in  a  maudlin  state, 
and  in  such  condition  was  arrested.     Secretly  got  word  to 


20534. 


3'^  "  /'.v   There  Arc   I'oijranls  —  A  Study 

Frank  to  leave.  I  was  despondent  and  hopeless  and  cared 
little  what  my  fate  should  be — my  only  concern  that  my 
parents  should  be  spared  my  disgrace.  Plead  guilty  and 
was  sentenced  to  an  indeterminate  term  (two  to  fourteen 
years)." 

After  considerable  persuasion  and  cross-examination  a 
man  who  at  first  insisted  on  his  excellent  character,  admitted  that 
he  had  lost  all  his  money  at  gambling.  He  had  learned,  he  said, 
to  gamble  in  a  church  club  for  men,  and  was  sexton  of  the  church 
at  the  time. 

Something  like  12  per  cent,  of  the  vagrants  whom  I  have 
interviewed  at  the  woodyard  confess  that  they  have  served 
sentences  of  long  or  short  duration  in  jail  or  in  the  penitentiary. 

L.  Vervaek  estimated  that  40  per  cent,  of  the  vagabonds  of 
Belgium  have  had  a  court  record. 

A  few  of  the  men  whom  I  interviewed  admitted  that  they 
ought  to  be  in  prison,  but  that  they  had  escaped  being  caught. 
One  talkative  fellow  said  that  he  had  used  a  gun  in  such  a  way 
that  he  would  have  been  in  prison  long  ago  if  the  authorities  had 
found  him  out.     Exactly  what  he  had  done  he  refused  to  tell. 

We  have  a  number  of  men  who  are  apparently  kept  in  a 
state  of  vagrancy  because  pf  their  prison  records.  It  has  not 
been  easy  to  find  employers  who  are  willing  to  give  law-breakers 
another  chance,  and  the  few  employers  who  will  do  so  are 
swamped  with  applications.  Fortunately,  there  is  growing  up 
a  feeling  that  law  breakers  have  not  received  the  treatment  they 
ought  to  have  had  in  prison.  This  feeling  is  finding  expression 
in  efforts  to  help  ex-convicts  to  their  feet,  and  the  number  of 
vagrants  who  are  ruined  by  their  prison  experience  may  be  ex- 
pected to  decrease. 

More  men  are  rendered  unemployable  because  of  their  un- 
reliability than  because  of  actual  crimes.  This  irresponsibility 
follows  naturally  in  the  wake  of  drunkenness  and  other  vices, 
though  it  is  sometimes  the  sole  cause  of  failure  in  men  of  other- 
wise good  habits.  A  striking  illustration  of  the  moral  blind- 
ness of  many  vagrants  is  that  of  a  young  man  who  told  me 
with  evident  pride  that  he  could  give  me  a  three  years'  reference 


Based  on  ExainiiiutUm  of  One  II iiii(lri\l  Men  39 

from  a  man  whom  lie  had  never  met,  lint  who  w<inl(l  ^ive  him 
the  reference  througli  tlie  influence  of  a  mutual  friend.  An- 
other young  man  told  me  that  he  had  worked  for  a  saloon- 
keeper for  two  weeks  and  could  get  a  reference  from  him  for 
a  year  and  a  half. 

It  may  be  alleged  that  there  is  another  side  to  the  question 
whether  it  pays  for  vagrants  to  lie.  The  following  letter,  if 
genuine,  shows  how  one  man  feels  about  the  virtue  of  telling  the 
truth: 

"To  the  Editor  of  the  World: 

"Is  it  a  handicap  to  tell  the  truth  about  oneself  when 
looking  for  a  position  ? 

"For  some  weeks  I  have  advertised  in  answer  to  a 
great  many  ads.,  both  in  person  and  by  mail.  Last  week 
on  two  occasions  I  might  have  landed  a  position  but  was 
told  they  didn't  need  a  man  who  acknowledged  he  was  a 
failure.  I  stated  that  after  eighteen  years  of  wanderlust, 
during  which  time  I  had  tried  mining,  railroad  construc- 
tion, ranching  and  several  other  commercial  propositions, 
I  found  I  had  made  a  mess  of  things  so  far.  At  once  I 
w^as  turned  down,  as  perhaps  many  others  have  been,  who, 
like  myself,  have  made  the  mistake  of  telling  too  much 
about  themselves  when  looking  for  work. 
New  York,  Feb.  15,  1914.  C.  C." 

Mr.  H.  F.  Cook  in  an  unprinted  report  on  the  Municipal 
Lodging  House  made  to  the  Joint  Application  Bureau,  gives 
the  results  of  letters  of  reference  which  were  sent  out  to  former 
employers  and  relatives  of  the  patrons  of  the  Lodging  House 
during  the  year  1909-10.  The  references  investigated  were 
classified  as  follows:  Favorable;  Bad;  Doubtful;  Not  found; 
Unknown ;  Previously  investigated ;  Pending. 

The  word  "favorable"  refers  both  to  competence  and  re- 
liability. "Bad"  has  a  moral  significance  only.  "Doubtful"  in- 
dicates an  evasion  of  the  questions  on  the  part  of  the  person 
given  as  reference.  "Not  found"  indicates  that  the  reference 
was  probablv  fictitious.  "LTnknown"  indicates  that  no  record 
of  the  man's  employment  was  found  by  the  persons  referred  to. 

Out  of  a  total  of  86,422  men,  47,299  received  more  or 
less  favorable  references  from  former  employers  and  relatives. 


40  Why  There  Arc   Vagraiifx  —  A  Study 

This  indicates  that  55  per  cent,  of  the  men  who  come  to  the 
Municipal  Lodging  House  are  still  able  to  find  persons  who  will 
speak  favorably  of  them.  As  it  is  extremely  unlikely  that  a 
man  would  give  to  the  city  government  a  reference  which  he 
knew  would  give  him  a  bad  reputation,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  only  143  letters  returned  positively  unfavorable  answers. 
Those  not  to  be  put  in  either  of  these  categories,  were  distributed 
about  evenly  as  "doubtful",  "not  found",  or  "unknown". 

Forty-five  per  cent,  of  the  men  did  not  give  references 
from  which  definite  information  could  be  obtained  as  to  their 
characters.  How  many  men  could  not  and  how  many  were 
ashamed  and  would  not  give  favorable  references  is  wholly  a 
matter  of  conjecture.  It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  of  the  favor- 
able references  representing  55  per  cent,  of  the  total,  many  may 
be  found  to  be  fictitious. 

CHAPTER  IV 

Temperamental    Disqualifications    for    Work    and    for 

Thrift 

The  second  important  group  of  factors  which  enter  into 
any  discussion  of  vagraacy  may  be  called  temperamental..  These 
factors  include  those  peculiarities  and  eccentricities  which  are 
not  to  be  classed  as  moral,  but  which,  nevertheless,  disqualify 
men  for  cooperative  efifort  and  render  them  unprofitable  as  em- 
ployees. These  peculiarities  of  temixM-ament  are  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  intellectual  disqualifications,  which  will  be 
treated  in  the  next  chapter. 

"Wanderlust"  is  an  important  disqualification  for  steady 
work.  More  than  half  of  the  vagrant  class  seem  to  have  been 
its  victims.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  that  "wanderlust"  should 
be  given  as  the  chief  cause  of  vagrancy,  for  it  is  probable  that 
in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  the  vagrant  would  settle  down  if 
he  had  some  motive  sufficiently  strong  to  hold  him  in  one  place. 
In  many  instances  men  wander  about  in  the  country  simply 
because  they  have  no  home  and  no  family  to  hold  them.  A 
considerable  proportion  of  these  wanderers,  however,  is  made 


Based  (III  n.vaiiiiiuilion  of  One  flundrcd  Men  41 

up  of  those  will)  have  wives  cjr  families  that  they  have  abandoned. 
The  reasons  given  for  restlessness  are  interesting. 

J.  B.  spends  his  time  wandering  from  one  part  of  the 
country  to  another,  working  on  railroads  when  he  can  get  a 
job,  and  never  staying  in  one  [ilace  more  than  a  month  or  two. 
When^asked  his  reasons  for  living  this  way,  he  said  he  liked 
variety. 

J.  M.  saitl  that  when  a  boy  he  had  learned  how  much  fun 
it  was  to  build  fires  in  the  woods  and  cook  his  own  meals.  He 
had  gone  to  work  in  a  factory,  but  found  the  work  less  enjoy- 
able than  scouting,  so  he  decided  to  go  on  the  road.  He  spent 
last  winter  in  Florida,  building  fires  on  the  roadside  and  cook- 
ing his  meals.  He  says  he  is  enjoying  life  a  whole  lot  better 
than  "fellows  who  stand  by  a  machine  all  day". 

J.  R.  was  offered  a  chance  to  learn  a  good  trade  if  he 
would  spend  six  months  in  a  trade  school,  without  any  expense 
to  himself.  He  refused  to  accept  the  opportunity  because  he 
declared  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  remain  in  any  place 
more  than  two  or  three  weeks,  and  he  knew  that  he  would 
run  away  from  the  school  before  the  six  months  were  up.  He 
said  he  did  not  want  to  disappoint  me  by  accepting  the  oppor- 
tunity. 

M.  D.  left  Scotland  to  see  America.  He  did  not  stay  in 
any  one  part  of  the  country  for  a  great  length  of  lime  because 
the  only  way  to  see  the  country  is  to  travel.  His  references 
show  that  he  is  a  capable  man,  and  aside  from  his  "wanderlust" 
he  has  no  bad  habits. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  causes  of  "wanderlust"  (pos- 
sibly if  we  knew  all  the  facts  we  might  find  it  by  far  the  greatest 
cause)  js  domestic  trouble.  The  story  of  E.  S.  is  similar  to 
that  of  scores  of  other  men.  He  said  that  he  held  his  job  until 
his'^iFe  proved  untrue  to  him.  They  separated,  and  from  that 
day  to  this  he  never  stays  in  one  place  more  than  a  few  weeks. 
He  has  held  excellent  jobs  a  number  of  times,  but  has  resigned 
without  giving  any  reason — apparently,  without  being  able  to 
give   a    reason.      He    says    that    memories    of    his    past    haunt 


42  ll'liy  There  Arc   Vagrants  —  A  iilddy 

him,  and  Ee  has  an  irresistible  impulse  to  get  away  from  old 
haunts. 

^  Without  doubt  many  men  begin  the  wandering  life  in  re- 
volt against  the  monotony  of  modern  industry.  It  can  hardly 
be  expected  that  the  descendants  of  the  most  daring  and  ad- 
venturous of  the  nations  of  the  earth  should  all  be  willing  to 
submit  to  humdrum,  unchanging  toil.  It  is  unfortunate  also 
that  the  desire  for  adventure  should  so  otten  find  no  better 
satisfaction  in  these  times  than  that  obtained  by  the  tramps. 
The  rich  man  may  travel  all  he  will,  but  the  poor  man,  who 
has  neither  aptitude  nor  persistence  of  purpose  enough  to  enter 
occupations  which  would  give  him  adventure  along  with  his  work 
must  be  satisfied  with  a  limited  horizon,  unless  he  "tramps  it", 
or  rides  by  freight. 

Josiah  Flint,"  who  spent  much  time  on  the  railroads  as  an 
ordinary  tramp,  has  discovered  how  easy  it  is  to  steal  a  ride 
on  a  freight  or  passenger  train,  or  to  bribe  the  brakcman.  One 
tramp  told  me  that  he  had  seen  as  many  as  sixty  tramps  in  a 
box  car  at  one  time. 

How  frequent  this  mode  of  travel  is  may  be  estimated 
from  the  large  number  of  men  who  are  killed  or  injured  every 
year  on  the  railroads.  O.  F.  Lewis  *  says  that  during  one 
year  there  were  killed  or  injured: 

Killed  Injured  Total 

Trespassers    23,964  25,236  49,200 

Passengers    1,960  39470  4i.430 

Employees   16,243  286,047  302,290 

Laziness  was  found  to  be  an  important  factor  in  the  down- 
fall of  fifty-six  out  of  the  one  hundred  cases  tabulated  in  Chapter 
II.  Almost  all  of  the  one  hundred  cases  later  observed  were 
those  of  more  or  less  lazy  persons.  I  feel  sure,  however,  that  in 
many  instances  ill  health,  wretched  food,  exposure  and  excess 
would  account  largely  for  the  condition. 

'The  Century  Magazine,  1899,  Vol.  58,  p.  258. 
'North  American  Review,  1907,  Vol.  185. 


Based  (III  E.vainiiiiilion  of  Our  Hundred  Men  43 

It  is  popular  td  altriljutc  laziness  to  [jliysical  causes.  Cer- 
tainly if  the  victims  felt  themselves  surchars^ed  with  energy 
they  would  not  have  the  a\ersion  to  exercise  tliat  many  of  them 
have. 

False  ideals  have  had  (|uite  as  much  to  do  with  the  matter 
as  low  vitality.  The  desire  to  get  an  easy  joh  or  U)  see  liow 
much  one  can  "do"  one's  emplo3'er,  arc  among  those  which  lead 
to  the  downfall  and  ultimate  vagrancy  of  many  a  town  or  city 
youth. 

One  man  declared  that  lie  liad  never  heen  taught  how  to 
work,  and  found  wood-chopping  entirely  too  strenuous  for  him, 
although  he  weighed  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds.  He 
worked  long  enough  to  make  ten  cents,  which  he  spent  at  a 
nearby  saloon,  and  then  returned  to  earn  ten  cents  more.  It  is 
difficult  to  imagine  in  what  kind  of  work  such  a  man  could 
engage  without  being  unprofitable  to  liis  employer. 

Every  social  worker  is  exasperated  by  the  vagrant  who  as- 
siduously avoids  work  as  though  he  had  taken  a  vow  never  to 
earn  what  he  received.  These  men  ask  for  work  in  order  to 
create  a  favorable  impression,  but  they  always  find  themselves 
unable  to  do  the  work  offered,  them.  A  Rrssian,  thirty  years  of 
age,  who  has  come  under  our  observation,  is  an  amusing  ex- 
ample of  this  type.  Though  he  asks  for  work  every  time  he 
appears,  he  always  expresses  the  fear  that  the  available  work 
is  too  hard  for  him.  During  a  period  of  eight  months  he  ap- 
peared from  time  to  time,  always  expecting  money  from  his 
country  and  needing  work  only  for  a  few  days  until  tlie  money 
came.  Apparently,  he  expected  to  retire  for  the  remainder  of 
his  life  when  it  arrived. 

The  fear  of  hard  work  has  become  a  ruling  factor  in  the 
lives  of  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
cities  of  this  country.  In  spite  of  all  our  talk  about  the  dignity 
of  labor,  the  life  of  toil  is  looked  down  upon  with  disdain  by  a 
large  class  of  people.  Many  young  persons  prepare  themselves 
for  clerical  positions,  not  because  they  expect  to  be  more  useful 
or  to  earn  more  money,  but  solely  to  escape  the  ignominy  of 
doing  hard  work. 


44  ll'lty  There  .Ire   I'agranls  —  .1   Slmly 

This  same  spirit  leads  many  men  to  retire  as  soon  as  they 
have  enough  money  to  keep  them  from  starvation.  Often  the 
money  runs  out  after  the  retired  man  has  lost  his  ability  to 
work  and  he  becomes  a  proud,  miserable  seeker  after  charity. 

At  the  end  of  each  month  the  woodyard  has  one  of  these 
retired  gentlemen,  who  has  a  monthly  income  of  $io,  but  who 
can  never  make  it  last  the  whole  month.  He  works  wherever 
he  can  get  small  jobs  until  his  next  check  comes,  when  he  enjoys 
another  period  of  gentlemanly  leisure. 

H.  C.  is  an  iron  worker.  He  is  willing  to  do  his  work 
in  the  winter  time,  but  in  the  summer  it  gets  too  exhausting,  and 
he  starts  out  to  tramp  the  country  until  cold  weather  comes 
again.  He  says  there  are  thousands  of  men  in  the  business  who 
do  the  same  thing,  and  that  the  iron  foundries  can  never  find 
enough  men  during  the  summer. 

A  search  into  the  history  of  one  man  revealed  but  a  single 
weakness.  He  repeatedly  failed  to  arrive  at  his  work  on  time 
in  the  morning,  because  he  could  not  break  the  habit  of  over- 
sleeping. 

There  are  many  men  who  arc  afraid  of  getting  overheated. 
Nothing  short  of  dynamite  would  make  them  hustle.  G.  B. 
worked  all  day  in  the  woodyard  on  a  job  which  would  have 
taken  the  average  man  only  three  hours.  In  sawing  wood  he 
used  about  three  inches  of  the  buck-saw.  Every  five  minutes 
he  stopped  to  get  a  drink  of  water.  When  asked  why  he  did 
not  bend  his  back  and  use  more  of  the  saw  he  replied  that  he 
didn't  believe  in  overdoing  matters.  He  lived  up  to  his  prin- 
ciples. Although  it  was  a  hot  day  he  did  not  remove  his  collar, 
and  he  was  the  one  man  in  the  woodyard  who  was  not  perspir- 
ing. Whatever  may  have  been  the  original  cause  of  his  vagrancy, 
laziness  was  the  principal  factor  in  keeping  him  in  the  vagrant, 
class. 

There  are  scores  of  instances  of  lost  jobs  through  loss  of 
temper.  Unfortunate  for  the  holder  of  any  position,  a  quick 
temper  is  particularly  disastrous  to  the  driver,  now  that  there 
are  members  of  the  Society  for  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  An- 
imals watching  everywhere.     We  had  a  splendid  looking  young 


Based  on  E.vaiiiiiialion  of  One  Hundred  Men  45 

man  who  had  been  a  c!ri\er  f<ir  a  large  firm  for  fifteen  years 
and  who  had  lost  his  position  for  beating  his  horses. 

A  hard  working  and  efficient  fireman  became  so  enraged 
because  a  fellow  workman  hid  a  lamp,  which  was  worth  about 
two  cents,  that  he  resigned  liis  job,  became  drunk,  and  de- 
serted his  wife  and  children. 

H.  M.  has  an  ungovernable  temper.  His  eyes  have  in  them 
a  spark  which  flashes  up  at  the  least  provocation.  He  is  not 
the  kind  of  man  to  whom  one  dare  speak  plainly.  Those  who 
have  to  deal  with  him  must  yield  to  him  or  flatter  him  for  the 
sake  of  peace. 

This  victim  of  hasty  temper  has  but  one  leg.  He  lost 
the  other  in  the  City  of  New  Orleans,  in  a  fight  over  a  woman 
of  the  streets.  His  adversary,  a  Mexican,  struck  at  him  with 
a  knife,  which  he  knocked  downward,  receiving  the  blow  in  the 
leg.  Blood-poisoning  necessitated  the  amputation  of  the  limb 
near  the  hip. 

H.  M.  started  in  business  with  his  brother,  but  foolishly 
dissolved  the  partnership  in  a  fit  of  anger.  He  married,  but 
quarrels  resulted  in  a  separation  from  his  wife  and  children.  In 
spite  of  his  experiences  he  says  that  he  is  becoming  more  un- 
controllable as  the  years  go  by.  I  tried  to  explain  the  James- 
Lange  theory  of  the  emotions  as  tactfully  as  I  could,  but  came 
near  getting  into  trouble  with  him  myself  and  changed  the 
subject. 

Thirty-eight  of  the  one  hundred  men  studied  gave  proof 
of  having  hasty  tempers. 

Vagrants  are  often  cowardly.  One  little  man  who  said  he 
was  a  miner,  had  a  way  of  boasting  how  he  always  stood  up  for 
his  rights,  and  how  he  would  "lick  the  man  who  tried  to  put 
one  over  on  him".  Later  I  saw  him  begging  for  mercy  from  a 
man  bigger  than  himself. 

In  a  sense  vagrancy  is  the  refuge  of  cowards.  Thousands 
of  those  belonging  to  the  vagrant  class  have  thrown  up  their 
hands  at  troubles  which  braver  men  would  have  faced  and 
overcome. 

We  should  expect,  therefore,  to  find  in  the  vagrant  class 
men  who  are  contemptuously  called  "bluffers",  who  boast  about 


46  ll'Iiy  There  Are   Vagrants  —  A  Study 

their  bravery,  and  are  the  first  to  run  in  time  of  trouble.  These 
"quitters"  as  tliey  are  also  expressively  called,  are  the  material 
from  which  the  vagrant  is  made.  As  a  whole  the  class  lacks 
nerve.  How  much  of  this  failure  to  respond  adequately  to  the 
stimuli  which  "fit"  the  normal  man  for  the  struggle  for  ex- 
istence, is  the  result  of  malnutrition  is  yet  a  question.  However, 
inasmuch  as  both  natviral  selection  and  special  selection  are  found 
to  discriminate  against  the  faint-hearted  and  lack  of  courage  is 
so  distinguishing  a  mark  of  the  vagrant,  cowardice  may  be 
said  to  be  in  a  very  real  sense  a  temperamental  cause  of  va- 
grancy. 

Chronic  "grouch"  acts  like  a  poison,  both  upon  the  in- 
dividual and  upon  those  about  him.  \"agrants  usually  have 
every  reason  to  be  pessimistic.  Some  of  them  are  such  past 
masters  in  grumbling  that  one  feels  sure  they  have  been  at  it 
all  their  lives.     Such  men  make  themselves  universally  disliked. 

Sometimes  this  form  of  habit  is  associated  with  false  hu- 
mility, which  paralyzes  its  possessor,  rendering  him  incapable 
of  making  a  respectable  effort  to  procure  a  job. 

A  short,  powerful,  black-haired,  high-browed  youth  of 
twenty-seven  was  J.  B.  -  Physically  he  was  fitted  for  the  hard- 
est kind  of  work,  and  his  face  showed  no  signs  of  excesses. 
One  would  not  have  guessed  from  glancing  at  him  that  he  was 
a  vagrant.  He  was  always  dressed  neatly.  But  when  he  opened 
his  mouth  there  was  bitterness  in  every  word  that  he  uttered. 
To  the  core  of  his  nature  he  was  an  anarchist.  Once  he  was 
persuaded  to  talk,  his  conversation  was  like  this: 

"Everybody's  tryin'  ter  do  everybody  else.  This  wood- 
yard  is  a  fake  like  everything  else.  There's  about  two 
kinds  of  people  in  this  world — the  bosses,  makin'  money 
off  of  the  fools,  and  the  fools  doin'  the  work.  You  can 
bet  I  ain't  makin'  money  for  nobody.  I'd  be  willin'  tu  be 
on  the  level  with  a  man  that  treated  me  white — but  who's 
doin'  it,  huh?" 
And  his  black  eyes  shot  daggers. 

Backwardness,  diffidence,  sensitiveness  to  the  words  and 
opinions  of  others,  are  all  manifestations  of  a  state  of  mind 
which  is  likely  to  prove  a  great  obstacle  to  economic  success. 


Based  on  Rxamination  of  One  Hundred  Men  47 

When  accompanied  by  a  deformity,  it  is  often  pathetic.  A  man 
named  \V.  had  been  deprived  of  his  left  eye  and  his  left  hand 
as  a  result  of  an  explosion.  He  was  sensitive  about  his  mis- 
fortune, and  \vt)re  a  never-changini^-  look  of  forlorn  timidity. 
It  was  painful  to  hear  him  say,  "1  don't  know  what  is  the 
matter  with  me.  but  I  guess  I  never  learned  how  to  make  friends 
or  something." 

While  the  majority  of  us  are  looking  down  with  disdain 
upon  the  vagrant,  it  is  surprising  how  many  vagrants  are  looking 
down  upon  the  rest  of  humanity  with  equal  disdain. 

O.  F.  was  a  servant.  In  his  early  days  his  family  had 
been  fairly  wealthy,  but  had  lost  all  of  their  money.  He  was 
never  able  to  condescend  to  speak  to  the  other  servants  with 
whom  he  worked  because  of  his  supposed  superiority  of  birth. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  talk  to  his 
employers  whom  he  considered  as  his  equals.  He  was  perse- 
cuted by  his  fellow-servants  wherever  he  was  employed,  and 
liad  to  flee  from  one  job  to  another,  never  remaining  more  than 
four  or  five  months  in  any  one  place,  until  at  last  he  found  it 
impossible  to  get  employment  during  the  greater  part  of  the 

time. 

Dr.  M.  G.  Schlapp  of  the  Post-Graduate  Hospital,  made  a 

careful  psychical  exafmnation  of  O.  F.  for  the  Joint  Application 

Bureau,  and  reported  as  follows: 

"This  man  is  not  a  mentally  defective  person  but  he 
is  one  of  that  unfortunate  type  which  is  so  mentally  un- 
stable as  to  make  it  impossible  for  them  to  adjust  them- 
selves to  their  environment.  He  has  a  tremendous  ego; 
he  is  frightfuUv  hypersensitive  as  to  his  prerogatives;  he 
is  intensely  cxc'itable  and  has  a  bad  temper.  He  will  not 
graciously  accept  any  criticism,  it  makes  no  difference  from 
whom  it  comes,  whether  from  employers.,  friends,  wife  or 
anvlxidy  else;  he  resents  all  criticism  because  he  has  such 
an' ego 'that  he  thinks  his  way  of  tlnnking  and  doing  things 
is  bevond  criticism. 

'''Tliese  jnentjiLty4ies_^fiefI"«-'"tly  develop  into  the  con- 
dition knmvn  as  paranoiac:  he  fecls'peopTe  are  against  him, 
that  the  servants  with  whom  he  has  come  in  touch  have 
been  scheming  against  him." 


r 


48  Jl'liy   There  Arc   I'agrants  —  A   Study 

Twentyriiine  out  of  the  one  hundred  men  gave  evidence 
of  inordinate  vanity. 

Illustrations   of   the   effect  their   idiosyncrasies   have   upon 
vagrants  could  be  multiplied  indefinitely,  but  it  is  unnecessary 
to  attempt  to  prove  what  must  be  patent  to  everybody. 
]y  Many  characteristics,  which  of  themselves  would  never  lead 

a  man  to  vagrancy,  when  combined  with  misfortune  or  bad 
habits  may  be  of  sufficient  importance  to  decide  his  fate.  Per- 
sonality lies  at  the  basis  of  our  attitude  toward  people  when  we 
try  to  give  more  defensible  reasons  for  our  judgments  of  them. 
We  just  do  not  like  some  people  and  the  dice  are  loaded  against 
them.  In  the  long  run  individuals  whom  nobody  likes  lose  out. 
In  Chapter  II  it  is  recorded  that,  out  of  the  one  hundred  men, 
thirty-four  had  repulsive  faces,  thirty-ihree  were  eccentric,  sev- 
enteen were  sarcastic,  thirty-two  were  exasperating,  twenty  were 
uninteresting,  twenty-seven  were  unsociable,  seventeen  were 
rude,  twenty-seven  were  stubborn,  and  fifteen  were  vulgar. 

In  other  words,  eighty  out  of  the  hundred  exhibited  charac- 
terises tq_which  the  average  man  would  react  unfavorably. 

CHAPTER  V 
Mental  Disqualific.\tions  fcJr  Work  and  for  Thrift. 

Men  may  be  disqualified  for  success  in  making  a  living 
either  because  of  their  mental  incapacity  or  because  they  have 
not  been  properly  or  adequately  trained. 

Out  of  four  hundred  vagrants  whom  I  came  to  know  well, 
I  judged  that  fully  one  hundred  were,  at  the  time  when  I  knew 
them,  mentally  so  far  below  the  average  man  that  they  could 
not  be  expected  to  compete  on  equal  terms  with  other  workmen 
under  present  conditions.  That  these  men  should  have  failed 
is  what  one  might  have  expected.  The  large  majority  of  them 
seem  to  have  been  stunned  by  their  hardships.  Of  these  many 
Avere  quite  prolxilily  mentally  defective  from  birth.  They  ranged 
from  the  slightly  stupid  to  the  criminally  insane  who  should  be 
in  institutions  designed  for  their  detention. 

The  Municipal  Lodging  House  Investigation  led  Mr.  Rice 
to  the  conclusion  that  6.6  per  cent,  of  the  men  investigated  were 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men  49 

in  destitution  solely  because  mentally  incapacitatetl  to  make  their 
living.     Mr.  Whiting,  reporting  on  the  same  investigation,  says: 

"About  12  per  cent,  of  the  men  showed  actual  evi- 
dence of  defective  mentality,  including  imbeciles  and 
morons.  There  is  little  doubt  that  fully  as  many  more  were 
in  a  mental  condition. or  of  a  type  of  mind  which  does  not 
permit  active  and  intelligent  reas(jning,  nor  indeed  provide 
one  with  sufficient  mental  ability  with  which  to  make  a 
living." 

Mrs.  Solenberger  considered  that  of  the  1000  men  whom 
she  studied,  81  were  temporarily  or  permanently  dependent  be- 
cause of  mental  unfitness  for  work. 

A  few  examples  taken  from  hundreds  which  have  come 
under  observation  at  the  woodyard  will  show  how  great  a 
variety  of  abnormal  mental  states  may  there  be  studied  and 
liow  unfit  to  be  abroad  these  defectives  are. 

M.  C.  looks  and  acts  like  an  idiot.  He  was  raised  in  an 
orphan  asylum,  his  parentage  is  unknown.  The  superintendent 
of  the  asylum  induced  a  firm  in  Brooklyn  to  use  the  orphan  as 
errand  boy.  This  firm  showed  great  patience  with  the  boy, 
because  he  was  half-witted  and  had  no  parents.  Every  few 
months  he  would  disappear  for  two  or  three  weeks  at  a  time. 
When  he  contracted  a  virulent  gonorrhoeal  disease  he  was  dis- 
charged from  his  job,  and  appeared  at  the  woodyard  a  few 
weeks  later  in  a  horrible  condition  and  apparently  on  the  point 
of  starvation. 

E.  M.  imagines  that  he  is  being  pursued  by  unknown  ene- 
mies. He  says  that  powerful  politicians  in  Kentucky  have 
detectives  all  over  the  United  States  hunting  for  him.  Pursued 
by  these  imaginary  enemies  he  appears  at  the  woodyard  every 
few  months,  only  to  remain  a  day  or  two,  when  he  disappears. 

A.  D.  has  been  a  drunkard  for  years,  until  both  his  will  and 
his  health  have  been  almost  irredeemably  impaired.  When  I 
showed  a  little  kindness  to  him,  he  grasped  my  hand,  as  a  drown- 
ing man  might  seize  a  rope,  and  said.  "Mr.  Laubach,  I  am  a 
mere  child,  I'm  just  a  grown-up  baby,  but  if  I  can  lean  onto  you, 
maybe  I  can  be  saved." 


5b  /[7;_v  There  Are   Vagrants  —  A  Study 

M.  K.  has  a  i>erpetually  silly  grin  and  an  insant  look.  He 
said  his  mind  was  peculiar,  and  he  did  not  know  what  ailed 
him.  He  never  could  tell  what  he  was  goyig  to  do  the  next 
minute.  \\''hen  asked  if  he  drank,  he  replied,  "Everything  I 
can  get." 

J.  N.  declared  that  he  was  elected  congressman  from  Rhode 
Island,  hut  that  because  he  was  uneducated,  "they  took  another 
man  by  the  same  name  and  never  said  anything  more  about  it," 
and  continued,  "I  can  never  prove  I  was  the  right  man."  In  this 
kind  of  rambling  talk  he  indulges  all  the  while.  He  says  he  has 
wandered  all  over  the  United  States  and  Europe. 

W.  P.  is  sevent3^-four  years  of  age.  He  is  a  simple- 
minded,  itinerant  musician,  traveling  from  one  mission  to  an- 
other, wherever  he  can  find  a  welcome,  and  singing  songs  when- 
ever anyone  will  listen  to  him.  He  discourses  on  the  subject 
of  grading  roads,  at  which  he  thinks  he  is  the  greatest  expert 
in  the  United  States. 

A.  H.  informed  me  in  strict  confidence  that  he  was  "suffer- 
ing from  the  curse  of  God".  When  I  asked  him  what  it  was,  he 
said,  "The  curse  of  God,  that  is  all."  I  could  not  find  that  it 
was  anything  in  particular  that  he  had  in  mind,  excepting  his  bad 
luck.  He  said,  "I  have  been  under  the  curse  of  God  for  seven 
years,  and  the  last  year  is  just  about  up :  then  I  am  going  to  have 
the  blessing  of  God  for  about  seven  years."  This  is  all  he  could 
be  persuaded  to  talk  about. 

A  stunted,  feeble-minded  boy,  who  said  he  was  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  but  looked  about  fifteen  or  sixteen,  wandered  into 
the  woodyard  one  day.  He  had  worked  in  coal  breakers  ever 
since  he  could  remember. 

L.  M.  has  the  saddest  voice  and  most  pathetic  appearance 
one  could  imagine.  His  face  bears  a  look  of  agony  and  despair. 
He  said  he  had  served  a  term  of  six  years  in  the  penitentiary, 
and  that  he  had  been  unable  to  get  any  kind  of  work  since  he 
had  been  discharged.  Upon  inquiring  at  the  penitentiary  where 
he  claimed  to  have  been  incarcerated,  I  learned  that  he  had  not 
been  there  under  the  name  which  he  had  given  me,  and  that  they 
did  not  recognize  his  description. 


Based  oil  ILvaiiiinalidii  of  One  llundrcd  Men  51 

It  happened  that  a  near-l)y  factory  needed  a  hand,  and  I  sent 
L.  M.  over  to  get  the  job.  He  sta)ed  there  three  days,  but  find- 
ing the  work  too  difficult  gave  it  up.  He  did  not  come  to  see  me, 
but  I  received  a  letter  from  him  which  was  so  striking  and  so 
superior  to  that  of  the  average  vagrant — or  of  the  average  man 
for  that  matter — that  it  deserves  publication.  From  it  the  extraor- 
dinary fluency  of  the  man  ma}'  be  inferred,  but  it  does  not  cor- 
rectly reveal  his  unspeakable  despondency  of  manner  and  voice. 

"Dear  Sir:— 

"In  making  use  of  your  permission  to  write  to  you,  I 
do  so  not  solely  in  the  hope  that  you  will  help  me  still 
further.  While  this  hope  is  largely  responsible  for  this 
letter,  there  is  also  a  wonderful  consolation  for  me  in  the 
fact  that  there  is  someone  to  whom  I  may  speak  about 
myself,  and  be  assured  of  his  sympathy.  I  could  dwell  at 
length  on  this  point  and  on  my  feeling  of  happiness  to  have 
found  a  friend — what  a  word — but  I  do  not  want  to  weary 
you.  So  I  will  briefly  tell  you  the  facts  about  my  present 
condition. 

".  .  .  Please,  sir,  accept  it  as  more  than  a  figure  of 
speech  when  I  say  to  you  in  closing  that  I  feel  very  grateful 
to  you  for  the  handshake  and  sympathy  and  help  you  have 
given  me.  May  the  great  power  that  must  be  above  us  give 
it  into  your  heart  to  see  me  through. 
"I  am,  sir, 

"Very  respectfully  yours." 

L.  M.  never  returned,  but  about  two  weeks  later  my  eye  was 
caught  by  a  letter  on  the  front  page  of  the  "New  York  Globe" 
which  read  as  follows: 

"To  the  Editor  of  the  Globe : 

"Sir :  Last  night  I  chanced  upon  a  copy  of  the  Globe 
of  the  22nd  inst.  Therein  I  read  an  article  'To  any  Boy',  by 
Mr.  Hapgood,  concerning  criminals.  This  gave  me  the  idea 
to  write  to  yoix — for  I  am,  or  was,  a  criminal,  having  but 
recently  been  discharged  from  a  western  penitentiary.  Six 
years.  Unfortunately  I  do  not  belong  to  Mr.  Hapgood's 
good  criminals.  I  was  guilty  and  convicted  for  stealing. 
Just  a  thief;  not  habitually  and  by  instinct,  but  I  was  guilty 
all  right.     Perhaps  you  will  read  on.     I  promise  to  be  very 


52  Why  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

brief.  I  don't  wish  to  steal  any  more.  What  is  left  of  my 
spirit  and  body,  after  six  years  of  lock-step  and  cell,  cries 
out  for  a  straight  life.  At  first,  in  prison,  I  was  unruly 
and  got  the  worst  of  it,  of  course.  Now  I  am  free,  a  total 
stranger.  I  need  work.  I  need  a  friend.  I  can  exist  until 
tomorrow.  Then  what?  No  money,  no  references,  the 
hangdog  look.  I  cannot  seem  to  look  up  straight.  I  realize 
the  folly  of  expecting  a  stranger  like  you  to  take  an  interest. 

"It  is  simply  and  literally  the  story  of  the  straw  and 
the  drowning  man.     But  here  goes : 

"Would  you  try  to  find  for  me  some  kind  of  work  for 
today  or  tomorrow,  so  I  could  tide  over  Sunday?  Some- 
thing might  turn  up  Monday.  I  am  forty-eight  years  old, 
single,  a  stranger  here.  Not  strong  now,  but  willing  to 
tackle  anything  honest.  If  you  are  in  when  I  deliver  this  at 
your  office,  I'll  wait  a  few  minutes  for  a  possible  answer. 

"Please  do  not  take  my  abrupt  style  for  disrespect.  It 
is  only  a  case  where  it  takes  all  my  courage  to  keep  on  living 
for  another  day,  and  I  have  no  heart  to  beg  my  bread  at  fine 
writing.  Just  one  more  very  earnest  and  very  respectful 
request,  sir.  I  know  this  is  a  forlorn  hope  and  I  expect 
to  be  turned  away,  but  do  not  advise  me  to  go  to  some  prison 
society  or  charity  or  mission  or  such  like  places.  I  have  had 
all  I  can  bear  of  being  classified  and  measured  and  stared 
at  by  some  hired  underling  who  cares  only  for  his  salary. 
They  delight  in  making  old  sores  bleed.  If  you  care  at  all, 
try  to  find  me  a  day's  work.  The  power  that  must  be  above 
knows  that  I  mean  business. 

"If  there  is  an  answer  please  send  it  out  to  yours  very 
respectfully, 

"G.  M.  of  Minnesota." 

The  identity  of  the  unusual  phrase  "the  power  that  must 
be  above"  in  my  own  letter  and  that  published  in  the  Globe 
together  with  other  striking  resemblances  rendered  it  practically 
certain  that  L.  M.  had  written  the  letter,  and  signed  it  with 
another  name.  I  telephoned  to  the  City  Editor  of  the  Globe, 
who  recognized  my  description  at  once,  and  who  informed  me 
that  the  letter  had  been  the  means  of  bringing  for  L.  M.  contri- 
butions amounting  to  more  than  $;iO,  considerable  clothing,  and 
a  ticket  for  a  job  in  Connecticut.  Dr.  Frank  Crane,  I  learned, 
had  taken  upon  himself  the  task  of  being  his  adviser. 


Based  Oil  Examination  of  One  llitndrcd  Men  53 

It  would  seem  that  no  one  could  have  a  more  favorable 
opportunity  to  make  good  than  L.  M.  now  had.  Yet  in  answer 
to  a  note  of  inquiry  I  received  the  following  disappointing  letter : 

"My  dear  Mr.  Laulmch: — 

"In  the  latter  part  of  last  year  the  man  .  .  .  was 
helped  by  The  Globe,  also  by  me  and  by  a  cotton  manufac- 
turer whose  name  I  ha-ve  forgotten.  We  got  him  some 
money,  some  clothes  and  a  ticket  to  go  to  Connecticut  to 
take  a  position  in  the  cotton  manufacturer's  works.  He 
disappeared,  and  I  have  never  heard  of  him  since.  He 
never  took  the  job. 

"Very  truly  yours, 

"Frank  Crane." 

This  story  has  been  told  at  length  because  it  is  typical.  The 
man  whom  it  describes  belongs  to  a  class  of  vagrants  who  make 
an  excellent  first  impression,  but  who  have  some  defects  that 
render  them  incapal)le  of  functioning  in  society.  There  are  mul- 
titudes of  homeless  men  who  appear  so  perfectly  normal  that 
one  cannot  believe  that  the  fault  for  their  condition  lies  in  them- 
selves, until  one  has  spent  days  or  weeks  in  their  company.  It  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  men  like  L.  M.  wander 
about  the  country  arousing  sympathy  and  receive  aid  wherever 
they  go. 

It  might  be  unjust  to  call  L.  M.  a  clever  rascal.  He  may 
mean  all  that  he  says  or  writes,  for  the  time  being,  yet  sufifer 
periods  of  melancholy  and  despair  that  are  literally  paralyzing. 
Such  men  are  very  likely  to  be  condemned  as  "dead  beats"  when 
possibly  in  individual  instances  they  should  be  treated  as  are  the 
demented. 

H.  N.  believes  that  he  is  a  prophet.  He  says  that  he  can 
hear  messages  telling  him  what  he  ought  to  do.  He  thinks  he 
can  see  the  spirits  of  dead  people  about  him  where  other  people 
are  unable  to  see  them ;  good  spirits  are  bright  spots  and  bad 
spirits  are  dark  spots.  His  religious  ideas  seem  to  be  peculiar  to 
himself.  His  fanaticism  has  led  him  to  sell  everything  he  pos- 
sessed and  wander  about  the  country  in  the  belief  that  in  doing 
this  he  is  obeying  the  voice  of  God  as  he  heard  it  in  one  of  his 


54  iriiy  There  Arc   Vagrants  —  A  Study 

visions.  He  says  that  his  call  to  prophesy  came  to  him  while  he 
was  prospecting  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  that  the  call  re- 
sembled that  of  St.  Paul  in  almost  every  particular. 

He  has  written  me  a  great  many  pages  of  almost  meaning- 
less matter.  The  following  letter,  written  in  191 3,  is  an  example 
of  what  his  vagaries  are  like : 

"...  I  hope  to  God  you  believe  there  is  nothing 
new  under  the  sun,  and  we  can  create  nothing,  we  can 
destroy  nothing ;  all  things  are  created  by  God  our  creator. 
Since  the  fall  of  Eve  and  Adam,  all  people  died.  I  told  you 
in  the  letter  before,  I  say  again,  when  we  die,  the  soul  only 
departs  from  the  body,  but  the  soul  comes  back  again  by 
intercourse,  man  with  women.  God  gives  always  the  soul 
a  body  according  to  our  lives  before.  I  know  Multitudes 
of  people  here  in  the  flesh  according  to  the  Bible.  That 
miserable  Serpent  which  deceiveth  Eve  is  that  Leviathan  in 
the  41st  Chapter  of  Job.  He  knows  all  secrets.  He  is  the 
King  of  the  Children  of  Pride.  It  is  that  miserable  Serpent, 
Emperor  William  H,  the  Kaiser  of  Germany.  He  did  the 
same  thing  years  ago  with  Eve,  and  brought  all  the  trouble 
over  the  house  of  Adam  Friedrich  August,  King  of 
Sachem.  Please  read  the  life  of  Louis  of  Toscany;  you 
can  get  it  in  some  of  the  Library's.  Cain  is  that  Czar 
Nicholas  of  Russia.  The  time  is  growing  ripe — Trouble 
zvill  come  from  the  North — .\braham  is  Pope  Pius  X.  I 
hope  you  understand  me  right.  The  same  soul  which  was 
in  Abraham,  the  same  soul  is  in  Pius  X :  the  same  soul 
which  was  in  Cain,  the  same  soul  is  in  Czar  Nicholaus  of 
Russia,  and  it  is  the  same  with  Adam  and  Eve  and  the 
others.  I  am  born  a  Protestant,  but  there  is  not  a  man 
which  loves  Pius  X  more  than  I  do,  because  he  works  on 
the  same  line  as  I  do  against  secret  lodges.  There  is  not  such 
a  thing  as  secret  lodges  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  we  must 
overcome  here  in  the  body,  not  up  in  the  air.  Pius  X  will 
be  a  sign  to  the  people  of  Niniveh.  That  means  that  he  will 
get  out  of  the  Vatican,  those  vipers,  Free  Masons,  will 
drive  him  out  of  the  Vatican.  ...  I  will  show  you 
plainly  the  New  Testament  contradicts  the  old — one  of  the 
two  is  wrong — it  is  either  Jehovah  or  Christ.  We  learn 
by  history  and  the  bible  Christ  was  a  deceiver,  according 
to  his  own  teaching.     .     .  The  church  which  Jehovah 

put  in  Existence  about  6000  years  ago,  was  the  holy  Kath. 


Based  on  Exaiiiinalitut  nf  Onr  I htiuhwl  Men 


00 


Church.     .  .     Peter  was  the  first  pope.     Christ  estab- 

hshed  koine.  Christ  was  the  anti-Christ.  Christ  was  that 
deceiver  which  deceived  the  whole  world.  The  time  is  ripe 
for  all  the  children  of  Israel,  the  Protestants,  and  all  those 
who  believe  on  Christ,  to  get  tired  of  that  confusion,  that 
Babylon,  that  fornication  and  murdering  spirit  which  Christ 
called  Love.  They  will  come  back  to  Jehovah.  We  will 
worship  Jehovah  the  same  we  did  in  time  of  old.  Sulzer  in 
the  past,  and  all  those  learned;  Murphy,  Tammany  is 
stronger  than  them.  There  is  only  one  which  can  help 
Sulzer  and  that  is  Jehovah,  h'or  long,  long  years  I  tried  to 
work  with  those  leaders  of  the  churches.  It  seems  to  me 
they  are  the  furthest  away  from  God.  I  tried  to  get  a  per- 
mit from  Ex-Mayor  Gaynor,  and  Mayor  Kline,  but  they 
did  not  answer. 

"I  believe  there  is  more  good  in  iniidels  nowadays  than 
in  the  average  of  those  leaders  of  the  churches.  It  is  my 
heart's  desire  to  give  out  that  truth.  It  is  my  duty  accord- 
ing to  the  plan  of  God  to  speak  to  the  people.  Mr.  Laubach, 
friend  in  God,  would  you  please  give  that  letter  to  other 
people.  .  .  .  God  made  me  free  from  the  desire  for 
money.  I  was  what  might  be  called  rich  in  the  past.  I 
spent  all.  God  he  give  me  the  beginning  of  all  secrets.  I 
know  well  that  if  I  am  free  of  a  desire  I  will  not  build  that 
up  again.  I  am  thankful  to  you  if  you  let  me  split  wood 
so  I  can  earn  that  little  I  need  b}'  working.  I  hope  to  God 
you  believe  that  letter.  I  hope  to  God  you  let  others  which 
are  for  truth  read  that  letter. 

"Your  truly  friend  in  Jehovah." 

Whether  insane  or  not  this  man's  fixed  ideas  are  complete 
disqualifications  for  a  life  of  prosperity  in  the  world  as  it  is  now 
organized. 

His  fondness  for  writing  letters  has  at  last  gotten  him  into 
trouble.  He  has  been  arrested  and  sent  to  the  workhouse  for 
writing  threatening  prophesies  to  Mayor  Mitchell. 

E.  S.  is  an  innocent  looking  boy  with  curly  hair,  and  one 
would  wonder  at  first  glance  how  it  happened  that  he  became  so 
unfortunate.  His  references  prove  that  he  is  a  notorious  liar,  a 
thief,  a  drunkard  and  a  seducer  of  innocent  girls.  We  had  him 
examined  by  an  alienist,  who  declared  him  to  be  a  moral  imbecile, 


56  IV hy  There  Arc   Vagrants  —  A  Study 

beyond  all  hope  of  recovery,  yet  "not  bad  enough  for  institutional 
care." 

E.  A.  imagines  that  the  entire  Jewish  race  is  in  league 
against  him  and  that  they  have  prevented  him  from  getting  a 
position  wherever  he  has  gone.  They  are  plotting,  he  declares, 
to  compel  him  to  marry  a  Jewish  girl  whom  he  does  not  want. 
He  travels  so  as  to  avoid  coming  under  the  control  of  these  plot- 
ters. 

C.  R.  said  that  the  fates  are  against  him.  He  knew  this  be- 
cause he  had  studied  Solar  Biology  and  Astrology.  He  soon 
wandered  off  to  the  subject  of  "the  wonderful  spiritual  woman 
with  lofty  ideals."  The  tears  came  into  his  eyes,  his  lips  quiv- 
ered and  his  face  became  red.  He  shook  his  head  with  intense 
fervor,  his  eyes  were  turned  heavenward,  and  I  feared  he  was 
about  to  have  a  spasm.  He  had  hydrocele,  for  which  he  had  un- 
dergone an  operation.  He  has  frequent  headaches  and  after  a 
sudden  jar,  he  experiences  an  unpleasant  sensation  at  the  base 
of  his  brain.     He  is  a  typical  case  of  dementia  praecox. 

Illustrations  of  this  kind  would  fill  a  volume.  Now  and 
then  a  man  shows  his  mental  inferiority  so  plainly  that  it  is 
readily  detected,  although  the  casual  observer  sees  nothing  un- 
usual. 

We  had  a  man  at  the  woodyard  for  a  week  before  we  dis- 
covered his  hallucinations,  yet  he  was  positively  dangerous. 

He  furnishes  the  best  possible  example  of  the  ease  with 
which  one  may  be  deceived.  When  he  iirst  appeared  at  the 
woodyard  he  claimed  that  he  had  been  robbed  the  night  before 
and  that  his  ticket  to  the  West  as  well  as  all  his  money  had  been 
stolen.  He  requested  the  Charity  Organization  Society  to  ad- 
vance him  a  loan  on  property  which  he  possessed  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio;  if  we  desired  we  might  telegraph  a  "certain  party"  in 
Cincinnati  and  satisfy  ourselves  that  he  did  possess  this  property. 

Plausible  and  convincingly  told  as  his  story  was,  it  was 
necessary  to  abide  by  the  rule  always  to  look  up  a  man's  refer- 
ences before  sending  him  away  with  money.  No  reply  came  to 
any  of  the  references.  We  put  him  into  one  of  our  beds  while 
he  waited  for  a  reply,  which  he  was  certain  would  come  every 


Based  on  E.vdiiiiiniliuii  of  One  II inulrcd  Men  57 

day.  He  was  so  scrupulously  clean  ami  ileal  that  we  hired  him 
to  take  care  of  our  bedrooms. 

For  the  first  week  we  were  delighted.  On  Saturday  night, 
however,  our  man  went  on  a  spree.  He  did  not  allow  it  to 
interfere  with  his  work  and  was  forgiven.  Then  he  vouchsafed 
the  information  in  strict  confidence  that  the  reason  he  left  the 
West  was  because  he  had  powerful  political  enemies  who  had 
plans  against  him,  and  had  prevented  him  from  getting  small 
political  offices,  for  which  he  was  very  ambitious.  In  a  few 
days  these  enemies  had  developed  in  every  part  of  the  United 
States.  Some  of  these  enemies  had  put  him  in  an  asylum  in 
order  to  get  him  out  of  the  way,  as  he  knew  too  much  about 
them  for  their  own  good.  He  began  to  exhibit  intense  hatred 
toward  the  Catholics  in  the  woodyard  and  had  a  fight  with  one 
of  them.  Then  it  was  discovered  that  he  kept  a  loaded  revolver 
under  his  pillow  every  night.  Upon  being  asked  for  an  ex- 
planation of  this  he  said  it  was  to  protect  him  against  his  ene- 
mies, who  were  scattered  all  over  the  city.  He  declared  that 
the  second  day  he  came  to  New  York  City,  a  policeman  on 
Brooklyn  Bridge  looked  at  him  and  grumbled  something  to  a 
fellow  policeman ;  then  he  knew  they  had  him  spotted,  and  that 
he  was  bound  to  have  trouble  in  this  city.  This  was  the  man 
who,  but  for  the  strict  rules  of  the  Society,  would  have  gotten 
carfare  to  go  to  Cincinnati  the  first  day  he  applied ! 

All  grades  of  mental  inferiority  are  to  be  found  among 
vagrants,  from  that  of  the  out-and-out  criminal  to  that  of  dull, 
stupid,  untalkative  men  who  will  never  do  any  harm,  yet  who  have 
not  enough  initiative  fo  provide  for  themselves.  No  one  can  come 
into  close  contact  with  these  men  without  the  conviction  that  our 
provision  for  the  mentally  abnormal  is  inadequate.  So  long  as 
they  are  allowed  to  roam  at  large,  such  men  not  only  menace  life 
and  property,  but  they  are  breeding  feeble-mindedness  wherever 
they  go.  Segregation  would  be  an  enormous  additional  burden 
to  the  public  in  this  generation,  but  it  would  save  the  next  a 
heavier  burden. 

Alexander  Pope  could  have  found  no  better  proof  of  his 
dictum  that  "a  little  knowledge  is  a  dangerous  thing",  than  is  to 


58  Why  There  .-Ire   I'ltyrants  —  .1   Study 

be  had  from  a  study  of  vagrants.  Their  stories  illustrate  abun- 
dantly how  useless  is  a  one-sided,  poorly  adapted  education. 
Vast  numbers  of  country  boys  are  ilocking  into  the  cities,  be- 
cause they  have  read  and  heard  much  about  the  marvels  of  the 
city,  while  they  remain  totally  oblivious  to  the  more  marvelous 
possibilities  of  their  own  occupations  on  the  farm.  After  reach- 
ing the  city  many  of  these  boys  fall  in  with  evil  men  and  ulti- 
mately degenerate  into  vagrants. 

This  is  the  story  of  T.  L.  He  was  the  son  of  a  Scotch 
shepherd.  His  people  were  sturdy,  conservative  and  contented, 
but  could  neither  read  nor  write.  When  the  boy  went  to  school 
he  became  deeply  interested  in  geography,  and  never  ceased  to 
dream  about  the  great  world  which  his  parents  had  never  seen. 
At  length  he  succeeded  in  running  away  from  home,  and  went  to 
sea.  The  wanderlust  seized  him,  and  he  has  traveled  over  the 
world  for  forty  years,  never  contented  and  never  very  successful. 

The  diffusion  of  science,  literature  and  art  is  giving  the 
laboring  class  desires  which  no  laboring  man  can  satisfy  without 
abandoning  his  steady  work.  E.  R.  said  that  he  had  quit  his 
work  because  the  long  hours  did  not  give  him  any  time  to  read. 
He  prefers  three  hours'  work  in  such  a  place  as  the  woodyard 
because  he  can  spend  the  remainder  of  the  day  in  libraries,  read- 
ing the  newspapers  and  magazines. 

In  still  another  respect  education  frequently  has  an  unfor- 
tunate result.  Because  a  majority  of  educated  men  do  not  labor 
with  their  hands,  the  idea  is  prevalent  that  manual  labor  is  a 
sign  of  ignorance.  It  is  not  difficult  for  the  man  who  is  attracted 
by  the  life  of  vagrancy  to  bring  himself  to  believe  that  it  is  more 
honorable  to  beg  than  to  work.  When  a  man  who  asked  for 
twenty-five  cents  was  ofifered  a  wood)-ard  ticket,  he  was  highly 
insulted,  declaring  that  he  never  condescended  to  such  menial 
tasks. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  educated  man  is  usually  restrained 
from  sinking  into  vagrancy  by  his  self-respect.  He  has  too  much 
foresight  to  leave  one  position  before  he  is  fairly  sure  of  another. 
He  would  feel  the  degradation  of  failure  and  vagrancy  most 
keenly.     The  circle  of  his  friends  requires  him  to  have  a  fixed 


Basal  on  Exaiuiinition  of  One  ihindi'cd  Men  59 

income.  He  will  be  ostracized  if  he  is  an  economic  failure,  even 
if  his  failure  be  an  honorable  one.  The  educated  man  usually 
spends  more  thought  and  time  in  proxiding  for  future  security 
than  the  average  illiterate  man.  The  man  with  intelligence  has 
farther  to  fall  and  more  to  lose  by  the  fall  than  the  ignorant  man. 
Therefore,  very  few  educated  men  become  vagrants,  unless  they 
are  dragged  down  by  some  vice  too  powerful  for  them  to  master. 

Educated  \agranls  form  a  distinct  class.  They  are  usually 
victims  of  alcoholism  or  some  other  vice.  They  do  not  associate 
with  the  illiterate  vagrant  and  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  they 
are  "gentlemen".  They  are  unable  to  conceal  their  education  if 
they  choose,  for  there  is  a  wide  gulf  separating  the  college-bred 
vagrant  from  the  untutored  one,  which  appears  the  moment  he 
speaks. 

One  illustration  will  sufifice.  W.  L.  was  educated  for  the 
priesthood,  but  became  too  fond  of  liquor  to  complete  his  educa- 
tion. He  was  a  good  Latin  scholar,  and  can  cjuote  pages  of 
Latin  to  this  day.  I  happened  to  know  something  from  Catullus, 
which  he  translated  at  once,  with  the  information  that  my  Latin 
pronunciation  was  poor.  He  was  able  to  talk  on  all  the  subjects 
which  we  brought  up  in  a  way  to  excite  admiration. 

His  sister  was  still  hopeful  of  his  ultimate  salvation  and 
persuaded  him  to  go  with  me  to  Chester  Crest,  a  home  for  in- 
ebriates. A  week  later  he  told  one  of  the  other  men  at  this  place 
that  he  could  not  stand  the  monotony  of  sober  living  much 
longer.  The  following  day  he  disappeared  and  was  ne.xt  re- 
ported with  his  crowd,  all  of  them  educated  drunkards  like  him- 
self, all  of  them  "panhandlers",  who  "hang  out"  on  Bleeker 
Street. 

Writing  poetry  is  decidedly  chic  among  these  "high-brow 
bums",  as  the  other  vagrants  call  them.  Perhaps  the  best,  and 
certainly  the  briefest  of  the  many  verses  which  they  have  pre- 
sented to  me  are  the  following : 

"MEMORIAL  DAY 
Hail,  glorious  Columbia,  proud  land  of  the  oceans. 

Greetings  a  thousand  to  thee  we  convey ; 
Garlands  of  flowers  and  bright  laurels  of  nations 

We  proffer  thee,  queen,  on  thy  proud  natal  day. 


6o  PVhy  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

Gemmed  be  this  day  in  the  annals  of  glory, 

Writ  in  the  glow  of  celestial  light 
Columbia,  our  greetings  each  star  of  thy  glory 

Emblazoned  shines  forth  like  the  proud  orbs  of  night. 

The  joy  bells  of  freedom  ring  loud  from  each  steeple, 
Sound  liberty's  tocsin,  till  shriven  the  clouds! 

Roll  trumpet  and  drum  mid  the  songs  of  the  people, 
Wave  high  thy  starry  flag,  proudest  of  shrouds. 

D.  K.,  ist  U.  S.  Inft." 

Four  out  of  every  five  of  the  men  of  high-school  or  college 
education,  who  became  vagrants,  owed  their  downfall  to  liquor. 
Two  educated  men  in  a  hundred  were  drug  users  and  two  de- 
clared that  they  were  victims  of  sexual  excesses. 

Mr.  Rice  finds  from  the  Municipal  Lodging  House  investi- 
gation that  27  per  cent,  of  the  men  investigated  had  received  no 
American  education.  Forty-six  per  cent,  admitted  that  they  had 
no  business  or  trade  training  of  any  kind.  More  than  half  of  the 
men  had  left  school  before  they  were  fifteen.  More  than  one- 
fifth  had  left  school  at  the  age  of  twelve  or  less.  Mr.  Whiting 
concludes  from  this  data  that  54  per  cent,  of  the  men  have  "had 
no  adequate  schooling  or-  trade  training". 

CHAPTER  VI 

Physical  Disqualifications  for  Work  and  for  Thrift. 

In  Chapter  II  if  was  stated  that  only  twenty-three  of  the 
one  hundred  men  were  free  from  some  more  or  less  serious  phys- 
ical disqualification  for  doing  the  work  for  which  they  had  been 
trained.  Seventy-seven  were  temporarily  or  permanently  below 
normal  working  ability  because  of  their  physical  condition. 
Thirty-four  of  these  disqualifications  were  permanent  in  charac- 
ter.    Forty-three  could  be  removed  by  medical  treatment. 

The  report  of  the  examining  physicians  at  the  investigation 
held  in  March,  191 4,  at  the  Municipal  Lodging  House,  on  the 
physical  condition  of  2000  men  gives  the  following  data : 

"One  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-seven,  or  62  per 
cent.,  were  considered  able  to  do  regular  hard  manual  work ; 


Based  on  Exaiiiiiujfion  of  One  Hundred  Men  6i 

354,  or  i8  per  cent.,  could  perform  moderately  hard  work; 
173,  or  9  per  cent,  could  do  light  work;  making  a  total  of 
1774,  or  89  per  cent,  who  were  able  to  do  some  kind  of  hard 
work,  and  only  226,  or  11  per  cent.,  unable  to  work.  Of 
these  80,  or  4  per  cent.,  were  temporarily  disabled,  leaving 
only  146,  or  7  per  cent.,  who  should  be  considered  as  per- 
manently unfitted  to  do  any  sort  of  manual  work". 

Mr.  Rice,  by  comparing  the  reports  of  the  social  workers 
with  those  of  the  examining  physicians,  learned  that  21  per  cent, 
were  disqualified  for  work,  9  per  cent,  temporarily,  and  12  per 
cent  permanently. 

Mrs.  Solenberger,  in  her  study  of  "One  Thousand  Homeless 
Men",  found  that  627,  or  62.7  per  cent,  of  the  men  were  de- 
fective in  health. 

The  various  kinds  of  physical  disqualifications  include. 
Sickness,  Sight  and  Hearing,  Crippled  Arms  or  Legs,  and  Old 
Age. 

"I  have  just  come  out  of  the  hospital",  is  one  of  the  com- 
monest statements  made  by  vagrants.  It  has  been  estimated  that 
in  New  York  City  there  are  1 100  per  cent,  more  vagrants  treated 
in  our  city  hospitals  than  other  people. 

All  diseases  to  which  man  is  liable  are  to  be  found  among 
these  men.  Of  the  one  hundred  men,  7  had  been  pronounced  tu- 
bercular, 26  confessed  that  they  were  or  had  been  suffering  from 
venereal  diseases,  4  had  bronchial  trouble  in  an  acute  form,  13 
were  suffering  from  malnutrition,  17  had  contracted  pleurisy, 
pneumonia  or  the  grippe  as  a  result  of  exposure.  During  the 
time  when  I  knew  them,  16  were  suffering  from  neuritis,  and  6 
from  other  diseases. 

Mr.  Rice  reports  that  of  the  two  thousand  men  investigated 
at  the  Municipal  Lodging  House,  there  were  permanently  dis- 
qualified for  all  kinds  of  work,  on  account  of  tuberculosis  13, 
heart  trouble  8,  epilepsy  4,  venereal  diseases  2,  and  other  8. 

There  are  two  marked  effects  of  these  periods  of  illness. 
The  first  is  a  gradual  lessening  in  the  earning  capacity,  the  second 
is  an  increase  in  necessary  expenses.  Each  illness  leaves  the  man 
in  poorer  condition  to  exist  than  before. 


62  Why  There  Arc   J'agrants  —  A  Study 

Frequently  the  illnesses  are  attributable  to  drink  or  im- 
morality, but  more  often  perhaps,  they  are  attributable  to  ex- 
posure, irregularity  of  eating  and  wretched  food. 

_  Sickness  drives  a  considerable  number  of  men  from  the 
ranks  of  the  employed  into  the  ranks  of  vagrancy.  The  man 
who  has  been  able  to  make  ends  meet  before  his  illness,  is  con- 
fronted with  staggering  bills  just  when  he  is  recovering  from  ill- 
ness, and  has  nothing  to  look  forward  to  but  years  of  indebted- 
ness. In  such  a  period  of  misfortune  one  of  the  easiest  avenues 
of  escape  is  to  desert  the  family,  for  charitable  organizations 
must  provide  for  the  women  and  children  if  there  is  no  man  to 
provide  for  them. 

Nine  of  the  one  hundred  men  had  defective  eyesight  and 
one  was  unable  to  hear  a  word.  Mr.  Rice  found  that  20  of  the 
2000  examined  at  the  Municipal  Lodging  House,  or  exactly  i  per 
cent.,  were  permanently  disqualified  for  doing  all  kinds  of  work 
on  account  of  defective  vision. 

There  is  today  no  reason  for  totally  blind  persons  being 
vagrants.  Manj'  men  who  are  not  blind,  yet  who  have  defective 
eyesight,  are  more  unfortunate  than  the  blind.  H.  C.  is  suffer- 
ing from  the  gradual  growth  of  cataracts  over  his  eyes.  He  was 
compelled  to  abandon  his  occupation  as  maker  of  watch  screws, 
at  an  age  when  it  was  too  late  for  him  to  learn  any  other  trade. 
Yet  he  is  not  sufficiently  helpless  to  be  taken  care  of  by  any  in- 
stitution for  the  blind. 

,  The  most  common  of  all  the  industrial  accidents  with  which 
vagrants  meet  is  the  loss  of  one  eye.  Those  who  are  totally  blind 
are  provided  for,  but  the  man  who  has  lost  one  eye  is  greatly  to 
be  pitied.  The  disfigurement  prevents  the  victim  from  holding 
any  position  where  appearances  are  of  consequence.  Railroads 
and  most  factories  consider  it  unwise  to  employ  him.  Unless  he 
is  extraordinarily  careful  an  unpleasant  odor  will  come  from  the 
socket  of  the  absent  member,  and  no  vagrant  can  be  very  cleanly. 
It  is  easier  for  the  man  with  one  eye  to  obtain  charity  than  to  ob- 
tain work.  People  will  pity  him  for  his  misfortune,  who  will  not 
have  him  about  as  a  workman.     For  this  reason  it  is  extremely 


Iniscil  on  Exaiiiiiiation  of  Oiu-  IJuiulrcd  Men  63 

easy  for  a  man  w  ith  one  eje  to  lapse  into  mendicancy  as  a  means 
of  livelihood. 

Deafness  is  a  serious  handicap  alone.  Associated  with  alco- 
hol it  becomes  well  nigh  unsurmountable.  Unfortunately,  the 
deaf  have  a  tendency  to  become  melancholic  and  are  very  likely 
to  drink  in  order  to  drown  their  trouble.  Jones  was  stone  deaf. 
I  took  him  to  all  the  societies  for  the  deaf  in  the  city,  but  one 
whiff  of  his  breath  was  enough  to  convince  every  person  whom 
we  interviewed  that  nothing  could  be  done  for  the  man. 

Four  of  the  one  hundred  men  were  deformed  and  14  were 
maimed.  Of  Mrs.  Solenl^erger's  1000  men,  254  were  crippled  or 
maimed.  Mr.  Rice  found  12  out  of  2000  men  permanently  and 
completely  disqualified  for  all  work  on  account  of  a  crippled  con- 
dition. 

.,  From  these  figures  we  may  infer  that  while  not  many  men 
survive  accidents  and  remain  permanently  unfit  for  work,  a  great 
many  men  are  rendered  inefficient  by  accidents  and  are  no  longer 
able  to  compete  as  they  once  did  in  the  labor  market. 

Day  after  day  there  appear  at  the  woodyard  instances  like 
these:  O.  B.  is  an  honest,  hard-working  man  of  fifty-five.  He 
is  an  illiterate  laborer  and  cannot  write  his  own  name.  He  never 
was  able  to  save  enough  money  to  feel  safe  in  marrying.  Re- 
cently his  hand  was  badly  crushed,  and  he  came  to  the  Charity 
Organization  Society  as  a  last  resort.  He  is  a  victim  of  igno- 
rance and  improvidence.  J.  K.  is  a  powerful  man,  who  has 
worked  in  a  meat  market  for  twenty  years.  A  quarter  of  beef 
fell  on  his  leg,  permanently  disabling  him  for  all  heavy  work. 
He  is  too  ignorant  for  anything  else.  M.  C.  D.  was  thrown  from 
a  truck  and  has  been  so  injured  that  he  can  do  no  hard  work.  P. 
R.  had  his  right  hand  cut  off  by  a  thresher. 

One  is  impressed  with  the  extreme  likelihood  of  a  laboring 
man  being  injured.  The  man  who  escapes  being  laid  off  for  a 
few  days  now  and  then  is  unusually  fortunate.  When  such  ac- 
cidents come,  entailing  the  loss  of  income  and  the  payment  of 
doctor's  bills,  the  vast  majority  who  had  just  enough  to  keep  them 
from  starvation  before,  become  the  victims  of  want,  unless  they 


64  Why  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

are  protected  by  some  kind  of  accident  insurance.  The  ignorant, 
unskilled  laborer,  whose  wage  is  smallest,  is  likely  to  consider  the 
insurance  rate  too  high  and  to  decide  to  take  his  chances. 
He  knows  that  if  he  is  out  of  work,  he  will  not  have  money  to 
pay  his  premiums,  and  his  policy  will  lapse  and  his  money  be 
wasted.  Employers'  liability,  which  is  discussed  in  later  chap- 
ters, will  be  a  great  blessing  to  laboring  people  of  this  class. 

•  The  most  pathetic  and  perhaps  the  most  excusable  cause  of 
inability  to  get  work  is  senility. 

Many  aged  vagrants  were  steady,  hard-working  men  until 
they  became  too  old  to  follow  their  vocations.  Then  they  hacj 
to  choose  between  living  in  some  Old  Folks'  Home  and  the  free- 
dom of  vagrancy.  iVfany  alms-houses  are  revolting.  The  public 
pays  enough,  but  the  public  usually  gives  very  little  thought  to 
the  way  its  money  is  spent  so  long  as  the  comfort  of  the  public 
itself  is  not  affected.  It  is  not  surprising  that  so  many  men  pre- 
fer to  shift  for  themselves. 

The  age  at  which  a  man  is  unemployable  depends  upon  the 
nature  of  the  work  in  which  he  is  engaged  and  the  condition  of 
the  man's  health  and  appearance.  Gray  hair  is  often  a  handicap. 
A  structural  ironworker  told  me  that  he  was  too  old  to  follow  his 
trade  at  the  age  of  fifty.  E.  B.  is  a  painter,  but  he  has  been 
pushed  out  of  his  profession  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  by  the  compe- 
tition of  younger  men.  In  a  city  like  New  York,  common  labor- 
ers are  superannuated  the  moment  they  show  the  first  sign  of 
weakness. 

To  one  who  has  come  into  intimate  contact  with  vagrants, 
this  army  of  hoary  headed  homeless  men  is  very  much  more  than 
a  matter  of  cold  statistics.  Faces  arise  one  after  the  other  in  the 
memory,  faces  haggard,  weary  and  the  more  pathetic  because 
they  are  so  hopeless.  The  only  escape  from  their  misery  which 
one  can  see  is  death.  There  is  Hunt,  a  huge  Scotchman,  half 
paralyzed  at  fifty-one;  McSweeny,  a  feeble,  superannuated 
painter  at  fifty-four;  Smith,  tottering  at  sixty;  Reisedorf,  still 
hopeful,  but  "out  of  it",  at  fifty-three;  Heilshorn,  fifty-three  and 
one  eye  gone;  Hogan, fifty-eight, without  one  eye; Dowling,  sixty- 


Rased  on  E.vaiiiiiiation  of  Our  Hundred  Men  '65 

eight,  too  feeble  to  work,  too  proud  to  ask  charity;  Halleran, 
stooping  at  fifty-five;  Nutall,  who  looked  twenty  years  more  than 
forty-nine,  which  he  gave  as  his  age;  Ryan,  fifty-nine;  Lester, 
fifty-seven;  Miller,  fifty-six;  Keller,  sixty-three;  Roach,  still  do- 
ing common  labor  at  seventy-two;  Heil,  fifty-seven;  Oram,  an 
Englishman  of  sixty,  proud  of  the  fact  that  he  has  been  a  coach- 
man for  a  past  generation  of  Vanderbilts;  Lyons,  sixty-seven; 
Schmidt,  fifty-nine;  O'Brien,  sixty-three;  Wood,  fifty- four,  dis- 
charged from  the  Hippodrome  because  of  his  age;  all  of  these 
are  old  men  at  ages  when  others  who  have  not  suffered  hardships 
are  doing  their  best  work;  all  of  them  are  refused  jobs  day  after 
day  because  they  reveal  their  senility  at  the  first  glance.  Numer- 
ically, they  are  but  few  compared  with  the  numbers  of  younger 
vagrants,  but  in  the  memory  of  the  social  worker  their  wrinkled 
appealing  faces  linger  when  those  of  the  others  have  faded. 

I  estimate  that  16  out  of  my  one  hundred  men  were  dis- 
qualified to  a  serious  extent  by  senility.  IMr.  Rice  found  that  1 16 
men  out  of  2000  were  unfit  for  work  on  account  of  age.  Mrs. 
Solenberger  called  132  of  her  1000  cases  "homeless  old  men". 

Mr.  J.  H.  Larson  compiled  from  the  records  of  18,606  men 
interviewed  at  the  Municipal  Lodging  House  during  1911-12  the 
following  statistics: 

Under  30  years  43  per  cent. 

Between  30  and  50  years  46  per  cent. 

Over  50  years  1 1  per  cent. 

Mr.  Cook,  from  the  records  of  12,448  men  interviewed  in 
1909-10,  found  12  per  cent,  over  fifty  years  of  age.  This  11  per 
cent.,  or  12  per  cent.,  is  almost  or  altogether  past  the  age  of  use- 
fulness for  laboring  men. 

There  should  be  a  "Home  of  Hope"  for  all  homeless  men 
who  have  reached  the  age  of  fifty,  and  are  no  longer  able  to  find 
employment  because  of  their  physical  condition.  It  should  not  be 
a  Blackwell's  Island,  but  should  have  the  comfort  and  refinement 
of  Chester  Crest,  and,  like  Chester  Crest,  should  afford  the  men 
a  chance  to  earn  all  they  get.  There  might  be  a  variety  of  indus- 
tries, but  the  first  and  finest  industry  in  the  world,  agriculture, 


66  Why  There  Arc   P^agranfs  —  A  Study 

particularly  berry  and  fruit  growing,  dairying  and  chicken  rais- 
ing, would  probably  prove  best.  The  state  is  perhaps  not  the 
best  maker  of  such  a  home.  Some  man  who  loves  farming  and 
who  desires  to  be  of  service,  could  get  land  at  small  cost  in  the 
vicinity  of  New  York,  and  should  make  a  success  of  the  project. 
With  such  a  home,  men  could  spend  their  declining  years  in  the 
peace  and  comfort  wliich  a  civilized  people  should  accord  to  its 
ag-ed. 


Based  on  E.viniiiiialioii  of  Our  1 1  mid  ml  Men  67 


PART  III 

SOCIAL  FACTORS  LEADING  TO  VAGRANCY 


CHAPTER  VII 
Vagrancy  and  the  Family 

It  fainily_jdeals_are_hri£ure  and  low,  vagrancy  will  result. 

/ivlore  frequently,  however,  the  breaking  up  of  a  family  because 

of  til e  death  of  "orie^or  "both  parents  or  of  the  determination  to 

separate  on  the  part  of  its  principals,  may  result  in  the  vagrancy 

of  one  or  more  of  its  members. 

Statistical  demonstration  of  the  effects  of  low  family  ideals 
in  producing  vagrancy  is  dithcult.  Such  test  questions  as  attend- ' 
ance  at  Sunday  School  or  Church  in  youth,  or  what  kind  of  books 
were  read,  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  a  very  small  proportion  of 
vagrants  has  come  under  religious  or  ethical  influences  that  have 
had  an}-  appreciable  effect.  Perhaps,  a  more  accurate  index  of 
the  effect  of  home  ideals  is  obtained  by  asking  whether  the  pa- 
rents were  given  to  inebriety,  or  to  what  extent  liquor  was  used 
in  the  home,  since  we  have  found  that  such  a  large  proportion  of 
vagrants  are  slaves  to  the  drink  habit. 

Out  of  the  one  hundred  whom  I  asked  the  question  whether 
their  father  drank  to  excess,  forty-five  declared  that  they  did. 
Seventeen  of  the  same  hundred  men  admitted  that  their  mothers 
were  victims  of  the  drink  habit,  while  twenty-six  declared  that 
liquor  was  consumed  freely  in  their  homes  while  they  were  chil- 
dren. 

Twenty-five  out  of  the  hundred  men  said  that  their  fathers 
were  either  harsh  or  unjust.  Great  numbers  of  vagrants  state 
that  they  ran  away  from  home  because  of  ill  treatment  by  their 
parents. 

J.  C,  a  Philadelphia  boy,  played  "hookey"  from  school. 
His  father  whipped  him  without  an}-  good  results.  At  length  the 
exasperated  parent  took  his  son  before  a  magistrate,  who  sent 


68  U'liy  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

the  lad  to  the  House  of  Correction.  There  he  learned  all  the  bad 
things  that  boys  usually  learn  at  these  institutions.  After  he  had 
stayed  two  years  his  father  helped  him  out,  but  was  so  cruel  that 
the  boy  ran  away  from  home  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  He 
joined  the  marine  corps  and  served  in  the  army  for  six  years, 
when  he  received  a  dishonorable  discharge,  and  has  been  a  wan- 
derer on  the  face  of  the  earth  ever  since. 

.  Stepparents  are  frequently  cited  by  vagrants  as  a  cause  of 
waywardness.  Fifty-nine  out  of  one  hundred  men  said  that  they 
had  been  left  orphans  before  they  were  sixteen  years  of  age. 
For  a  long  time  we  tried  to  persuade  a  young  man  to  go  back  to 
his  parents  and  cease  wasting  his  life,  but  nothing  the  parents  or 
we  could  do  had  any  effect  upon  him.  He  declared  that  his  step- 
mother had  made  life  impossible  for  him  and  that  he  never 
wanted  to  see  her  again. 

L.  V.  was  asked  the  question  which  opens  men's  hearts  as 
no  other  does,  "Are  your  parents  living?"  "No,"  was  the  reply, 
"I  never  saw  my  mother.  She  died  when  I  was  born.  iVly 
father  died  when  I  was  three  years  old.  The  man  I  lived  with 
was  a  rummy.  One  da)'  when  I  was  fifteen  years  old  he  cussed 
at  my  mother  (I  called  her  mother),  and  he  picked  up  the  butcher 
knife  to  hit  her.  I  reached  over  and  knocked  him  down,  and  beat 
him  up  imtil  he  had  both  eyes  blackened.  'There',  I  said,  'that 
pays  for  the  way  you  have  treated  me  for  the  last  ten  years.  I 
have  been  waiting  for  the  time  to  come  when  I  could  do  this.' 
I  would  have  killed  him  if  his  wife  hadn't  stopped  me. 

"I  had  a  good  wife,  but  I  had  to  spend  $800.00  on  two 
operations,  and  then  she  died.  Isn't  that  enough  to  make  any 
man  discouraged?  Since  then  I  have  been  knocking  around 
without  getting  anywhere.  Not  long  ago  I  had  $300.00  in  my 
pocket  which  I  had  saved  up  for  six  months.  I  went  on  a  drunk, 
as  all  of  us  working  folks  do,  and  spent  it  all  in  ten  days.  I  had 
a  buddy  who  stole  a  suit  of  my  clothes.  I  got  a  gun  and  went 
after  him,  and  I  hunted  for  him  for  two  days.  If  I  had  found 
him  I'd  have  been  hung  long  ago,  but  he  got  away  from  me,  and 
I  have  never  run  across  him  since." 


Based  on  Exaiiiiiialion  of  One  llnntlrcd  Men  69 

This  man  has  a  good  heart  and  will  do  anything  for  his 
friends.  Where  he  is  dri  f ting  is  only  too  evident,  and  it  is  what 
one  might  expect  from  his  early  experiences. 

Twelve  of  my  one  hundred  men  said  that  they  had  been  in 
orphanages.  This  proportion  is  not  far  from  that  discovered  by 
the  Municipal  Lodging  House  investigation,  in  which  it  is  stated 
that  9.3  per  cent,  of  the  men  said  that  they  had  spent  time  in 
orphanages. 

The  injury  done  to  children  when  both  parents  work  outside 
the  home  during  the  day  is  clearly  seen  in  the  life  stories  of  many 
vagrants.  A  young  man  who  looked  as  though  he  ought  to  be 
occupying  a  good  position,  and  who  was,  nevertheless,  wander- 
ing about  the  country,  said  that  his  father  and  mother  had  both 
been  cigarmakers  ever  since  he  could  remember,  and  that  he  had 
started  in  the  same  business  at  a  very  early  age.  He  said  that  he 
had  never  had  any  pleasure  at  home,  and  that  he  had  wandered 
away  because  he  wanted  to  enjoy  life. 

Sixty-three  of  the  hundred  men  said  they  had  been  raised  in 
the  city,  nineteen  said  they  had  been  raised  in  towns,  and  six 
said  that  they  had  spent  their  early  years  on  farms.  Everypa- 
rent  who  tries  to  train  children  iti  cities 'realizes  how  powerful 
are  the  distractions  of  thg  city\streets  and  how  difficult  it  is  to 
keep  children  from  demoralizing  influences. 

^  Almost  every  day  the  interviewer  hears  the  story  of  one 
who  says  that  everything  was  going  well  until  his  wife  died,  or 
until  some  trouble  separated  the  family.  After  the  family  had 
broken  up  he  never  seemed  to  be  the  same  man  again.  At  least 
twenty-six  of  my  one  hundred  sample  cases  had  deserted  their 
wives,  fourteen  men  were  widowers,  and  thirty-eight  were  single 
men. 

Such  notes  as  the  following  have  been  made  by  me  in  the 
course  of  this  investigation :  "Says  wife  went  insane  and  he  took 
to  drink  to  drown  his  grief."  "Lost  four  children  and  wife 
through  tuberculosis,  and  has  had  no  interest  in  life  since." 
"Wife  turned  on  gas  and  killed  herself.  Had  held  job  for  years, 
but  gave  it  up  and  has  not  held  a  job  more  than  a  month  at  a 
time  since.     Drink  does  not  bother  him."     "Wife  mistreated  his 


r 


70  Jl'liy  Then-  .Ire   I'agrants  —  A   Study 

son — her  stepson — resulting  in  quarrel  and  separation.  He  has 
been  a  tramp  since."  "Handsome  man  .  .  .  had  domestic 
trouble  some  years  ago,  nature  of  which  he  refuses  to  divulge, 
but  declares  he  has  learned  his  lesson.  Heavy  drinker."  "Lost 
job  by  going  on  spree  at  time  wife  died."  And  letters  like  this: 
"In  reply  to  your  inquiry  on  .  .  .,  we  beg  to  say  that  he 
has  worked  for  us  as  stated  about  three  years.  .  .  .  Owing 
to  some  domestic  trouble  we  have  often  advanced  him  money, 
but  his  trouble  took  him  away  to  court  cjuite  frequently."  Men 
are  usually  cautious  about  telling  facts  such  as  the  last  quoted 
letter  reveals,  because  it  is  likely  to  lead  to  prosecution  for  non- 
support. 

The  psychology  of  these  cases  is  not  difficult  to  understand. 
The  knowledge  that  he  has  a  wife  and  family  dependent  upon 
him  will  normally  make  a  man  willing  to  endure  and  to  work  as 
he  would  not  if  they  were  taken  from  him.  Rising  at  five  in  the 
morning,  bending  to  one  task  until  sunset,  hearing  of  attractive 
races,  games,  amusements,  excitements^  but  never  having  time  to 
attend  them,  this  is  sacrifice,  and  the/man  without  sufficient  in- 
centive will  often  get  into  the  habit  of  caring  too  much  about 
these  pleasures,  and  will  tear  himself  from  incessant,  grinding 
toil,  when  those  for  whom  he  was  willing  to  suffer  are  gone. 

Even  comparatively  easy  labor  becomes  irksome  when  there 
is  no  motive  for  performing  the  task.'  The  laboring  man  does 
not  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  results  of  his  labor,  he  moves 
his  hands  or  feet  a  few  times,  makes  his  particular  article,  and 
sends  it  away,  never  to  see  or  hear  of  it  again.  This  is  very  well 
if  he  has  children  or  wife  to  dream  of  and  to  plan  for,  but  when 
they  are  gone,  it  is  small  wonder  that  he  longs  to  break  loose 
and  enter  into  the  excitement  of  a  care-free  life. 

When  the  attraction  of  the  home  has  been  taken  away,  a 
man  finds  the  street  suddenly  grown  attractive,  for  it  occupies  the 
mind  and  relieves  the  sense  of  loss  which  oppresses  him.  Unfor- 
tunately, street  influences  are  largely  of  a  kind  that  lead  to  self- 
abasement  and  ruin. 

If  the  lack  of  anchorage  which  a  family  makes  is  one  reason 
for  vagrancy,  any  condition  which  makes  for  celibacy  must  be 


Based  on  E.wuiiiitation  of  One  Hundred  Men  71 

harmful.  \\  lieu  men  are  asked  why  they  have  never  married,  we 
get  the  reply:  "Me?  What  have  I  got  to  keep  a  wife  on?" 
Usually  it  is  uttered  without  intent  as  an  indictment  of  modern 
economic  conditions. 

It  is  often  asked  why  women  do  not  become  vagrants  in  as 
great  numbers  as  men.  There  are  perhaps  three  answers  to  the 
question.  The  first  is  that  they  do  become  the  female  kind  of 
vagrant,  namely,  prostitutes,  in  many  instances.  The  second 
answer  is  that  society  will  not  tolerate  in  females  the  same  kind 
of  vagrancy  that  it  will  tolerate  in  men.  The  third  is  that  per- 
haps most  women  do  not  have  the  same  roving  disposition  as 
*  'vVmen-  It  has  been  men  who  have  done  most  of  the  exploring  in 
history,  who  have  manifested  most  of  the  spirit  of  adventure  and 
love  of  taking  chances,  and  who  have  constituted  the  radical  wing 
of  society,  while  women  have  been  domestic  and  conservative. 
-~,.  1^  It  may  be  that  ivandcrlust  is  allurement  to  which  the  male  sex  is 
most  susceptible. 

Successful  men  usually  pay  glowing  tributes  to  their  moth- 
ers. Such  tributes  are  conspicuous  for  their  rarety  among  va- 
grants. I  have  sought  to  arouse  men  to  a  sense  of  shame  by  ap- 
pealing to  them  as  evangelists  often  do,  to  remember  their  sainted 
mothers.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the  sainted  mothers  proved  to 
be  myths,  unless  they  were  mothers  who  died  while  the  children 
were  very  young.  Frequently  the  allusion  to  a  man's  loving 
mother  elicits  the  reply,  "I  never  had  the  kind  of  mother  other 
people  had." 

Some  of  the  attempts  to  glorify  mothers  are  pitiful.  One 
young  man  informed  me  that  he  had  a  good  mother — before  she 
ran  off  with  another  man,  leaving  him  with  his  father.  Men  the 
world  over  are  too  chivalrous  not  to  stand  by  their  mothers  to 
the  last,  but  few  vagrants  can  speak  with  truth  of  their  mothers 
as  noble  women.  If  we  look  for  ultimate  causes  of  vagrancy, 
they  are  often  to  be  found  in  the  lack  of  good  mothers. 

As  one  associates  for  a  long  time  with  vagrants  he  is  driven 
to  realize  that  primarily  we  are  creatures  of  heredity  and  second- 
arily of  environment,  and  that  it  is  unscientific  to  condemn  with- 
out measure  those  who  go  wrong,  as  though  the  responsibility 
were  all  theirs. 


"JT,  II'I'V  There  Arc   Vagrants  —  A   Study 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Vagrancy  and  Economic  Maladjustments 

The  supply  of  vagrants  varies  with  economic  conditions. 
There  is  no  better  way  of  testing  the  economic  situation  at  a  given 
period  than  by  computing  the  number  of  vagrants. 

Unfortunately,  the  man  who  loses  a  position  during  hard 
times  does  not  easily  regain  it.  Moreover,  for  many  men  of  the 
wage-earning  class,  a  few  months  of  idleness  have  a  bad  efifect, 
especially  if  they  resort  to  ways  that  are  parasitic.  In  many 
cases  where  such  means  of  relief  are  made  use  of,  hard  work  is 
often  avoided  permanently.  It  is  far  easier  for  a  man  to  con- 
tinue in  a  life  of  idleness  than  it  was  for  him  to  fall  into  it  orig- 
inally. When  the  pride  of  independence  and  self-support  is  lost, 
the  whole  character  of  the  man  is  changed. 

A  period  of  enforced  idleness  for  any  large  number  of  men 
is,  therefore,  a  permanent  injury  to  a  nation,  an  injury  whose  im- 
portance it  hardly  is  possible  to  overestimate. 

That  economic  or  industrial  conditions  are  alone  responsible 
for  vagrancy  is,  however,  not  to  be  deduced  from  any  study  of 
the  vagrant  class.  In  every  case  with  which  I  have  come  into 
contact  the  personal  factor  enters  also.  In  fact,  it  is  exceedingly 
diiificult  and  often  quite  impossible,  to  determine  whether  the 
economic  factor  is  the  larger  or  smaller.  In  practically  every 
case  the  trouble  is  with  the  man  himself — that  is,  in  his  moral, 
temperamental,  mental  or  physical  make-up. 

In  every  trade  men  may  be  graded  from  the  very  efificient 
to  the  very  poor  workman.  Whenever  for  any  reason  there  are 
more  laborers  in  a  given  trade  than  there  is  demand  for  them, 
the  inefificient  are  laid  off  first,  because  the  employer  finds  it  un- 
profitable to  use  men  of  an  inferior  grade  at  that  time.  The  in- 
elificiency  of  the  man  is,  therefore,  in  part,  to  blame  for  his  dis- 
missal, yet  if  the  supply  and  demand  for  laborers  in  that  trade 
were  equal,  every  man  who  could  do  the  work  would  be  em- 
ployed. In  periods  of  panic,  this  weeding-out  process  may  con- 
tinue until  it  includes  large  numbers  of  men  of  average  or  more 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men  y^ 

than  average  ability.     Under  ordinary  circumstances  it  includes 
only  those  who  are  below  the  average  in  efficiency. 

A  particular  class  of  the  unemployed  is  comprised  of  those 
who  have  spent  their  lives  in  trades  which,  for  some  reason,  are 
out  of  date.  These  men  constitute,  of  cour.se,  a  relatively  .small 
percentage  of  the  total  number.  If  the  man  is  of  average  ability, 
under  ordinary  circumstances  he  can  easily  take  up  something 
else,  and  has  no  good  reason  for  becoming  a  vagrant.  Individual 
idiosycrasies,  however,  are  usually  to  be  found  cooperating  in 
such  cases.     For  example : 

L.  M.  was  a  coachman  for  a  wealthy  New  York  family  dur- 
ing a  period  of  thirty-five  years.  During  this  time  he  became  fat 
and  lazy.  His  services  were  rendered  unnecessary  by  the  intro- 
duction of  the  automobile,  and  it  was  then  hopeless  for  him  to  at- 
tempt to  learn  another  trade,  on  account  of  his  age  and  his  habits. 

N.  J.  was  a  blacksmith,  who  ran  a  small  business  for  him- 
self in  a  small  city,  but  his  business  became  so  poor  that  he  was 
compelled  to  give  it  up.  He  attributes  his  failure  to  the  fact  that 
automobiles  are  taking  the  place  of  horses.  It  does  not  require 
a  long  acquaintance  with  the  man  to  realize  that  a  large  part  of 
the  fault  lies  with  himself. 

J.  R.  was  a  footman,  valet  and  butler.  He  says  that  these 
positions  are  not  as  numerous  in  proportion  to  the  supply  as  for- 
merly, because  so  many  people  are  moving  into  hotels  and  apart- 
ment houses,  while  at  the  same  time  many  Englishmen  in  his 
profession  are  coming  to  America.  While  this  explanation  is 
adequate  for  J.  R.  himself,  a  brief  conversation  would  convince 
anyone  that  his  failure  is  also  to  be  explained  by  his  eccentric 
character.    He  is  vain  and  insolent. 

N.  S.  says  that  he  has  not  been  able  to  secure  a  position  as 
stableman  for  many  months  because  the  use  of  horses  is  decreas- 
ing. 

L.  O.  was  discharged  as  telegrapher  because  the  railroad 
for  which  he  was  working  installed  the  telephone  instead  of  the 
telegraph. 

J.  M.  is  a  sail  maker.  He  says  that  the  steamships  and  ma- 
chinery together  have  made  the  demand  for  hand-work  on  sails 
and  on  tents  far  less  than  it  used  to  be. 


74  ll'liy  There  Arc   I'agrants  —  j{   Study 

A  considerable  number  of  moulders  said  that  they  lost  their 
jobs  because  moulding  is  being  done  by  machiner)-,  and  that  tliey 
had  not  been  able  to  find  anything  else  to  do.  Practically  all  of 
these  men  are  hard  drinkers.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  most 
drivers,  who  are  out  of  work. 

An  interesting  case  is  that  of  H.  J.,  who  has  been  a  box-office 
man,  selling  tickets  of  all  kinds.  He  says  he  has  been  run  out  of 
the  profession  by  girls,  who  are  occupying  nearly  all  of  the  box- 
offices. 

All  that  men  need  in  order  to  become  vagrants  is  a  start. 
It  is  a  matter  of  only  a  few  weeks  or  months  before  they  dis- 
cover that  it  is  possible  to  live  much  more  easily  by  charity  than 
by  work.  There  is  a  certain  excitement,  a  certain  good  sport  in 
making  a  living  by  one's  wits,  which,  once  tasted,  appeals  to  a 
class  of  men  much  more  than  their  humdrum  occupations. 
The  pity  of  it  is  that  while  these  men  are  not  as  steady  and  re- 
liable as  the  men  who  have  good  jobs,  many  of  them  have  in- 
itiative, originality  and  an  adventurous  spirit  which,  properly 
directed,  would  accomplish  something  worth  while. 

Because  part-time  work  is  often  supplemented  by  making 
a  living  by  one's  wits  it  leads  frequently  to  a  life  of  vagrancy. 
It  is  significant  that  over  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  men  who  visit 
the  woodyard  give  as  their  employment  some  kind  of  work 
which  is  likely  to  be  dull  during  a  part  of  the  year — such  work 
as  railroad  track  work,  painting,  carpentering  and  roofing. 

M.  R.  is  a  bricklayer  with  excellent  references.  Much  of 
the  year  he  is  idle  because  it  is  impossible  to  lay  brick  when  the 
temperature  is  below  30  degrees  Fahr.  Having  no  family  con- 
nections, he  associates  with  men  of  the  vagrant  class  when  he 
is  idle. 

G.  D.  is  a  granolithic  and  cement  worker.  He  roams  about 
the  city  during  cold  weather,  accepting  whatever  charity  will 
give  him.  Though  he  makes  good  wages  when  at  work,  he 
saves  nothing  because  he  has  learned  that  he  can  get  along 
without  saving. 

L.  W.  is  a  gardener.  During  his  season  of  idleness  in  the 
winter  he  hibernates  in  the  city,  depending  upon  free  lunches 
and  charitable  sources  of  food  supply. 


Based  on  lixauiination  of  One  Hundred  Men  75 

A.  (j.  is  a  good  tanner.  Six  months  out  of  the  year  he 
works.  While  his  tannery  is  idle  he  is  a  vagrant.  When  asked 
which  he  preferred,  work  or  idleness,  he  replied  that  he  liked 
both  for  a  change  and  did  not  want  either  all  the  time. 

The  number  of  drivers  who  apply  for  aid  increases  consid- 
erably after  the  Christmas  season,  when,  they  say,  they  have 
been  laid  ofif. 

During  the  depression  in  the  iron  and  steel  industries  in 
191 3-1914,  there  were  large  numbers  of  men  from  these  indus- 
tries, and  from  stores  and  factories  which  ordinarily  use  all  of 
the  trained  workers  they  can  get.  The  failure  of  several  large 
stores  left  unemployed  an  unusually  large  number  of  salesmen 
who  applied  for  assistance. 

Miss  Jane  Addams,  writing  in  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal 
on  the  labor  problem,  declared  that  from  one-fourth  to  one-third 
of  the  wage  earners  of  the  country  are  out  of  employment  for 
various  periods  each  year.  This  is  not  only  demoralizing  to 
the  workmen,  but  it  is  an  enormous  waste  of  energy  for  the 
nation.  We  might  look  upon  this  loss  of  time  with  compla- 
cency if  the  men  out  of  work  had  sufficient  money  to  supi^ort 
themselves,  but  when  so  many  of  them  are  reduced  to  poverty 
and  are  unsuccessful  in  obtaining  work,  the  situation  is  deplor- 
able. 

During  the  summer  months  work  is  abundant,  but  in  mid- 
winter, when  necessary  expenses  are  highest  and  poverty  entails 
the  greatest  suffering,  the  labor  market  is  always  over-supplied 
in  large  cities.  Mr.  Whiting  finds  from  the  Municipal  Examina- 
tion of  March,  19 14,  that  15  per  cent,  of  the  men  examined 
were  at  the  Lodging  House  on  account  of  the  seasonal  nature 
of  their  employment.  This  was  an  extraordinarily  hard  winter. 
During  the  month  of  January,  1910,  which  was  an  average  year, 
there  were  93  requests  from  men  to  be  committed  to  the  Work- 
house for  periods  of  one,  two,  three  and  six  months,  on  the 
ground  that  there  was  no  work  to  be  had  outside  at  that  time 
of  the  year.  When  a  man  does  that  he  is  hard  pressed.  Mr.  H. 
F.  Cook  relates  an  experience  so  familiar  to  all  social  workers 
that  it  is  worth  quoting: 


76  Why  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

"Last  summer  ...  I  used  to  go  out  into  the 
vicinity  of  Twenty-second  Street,  trying  to  secure  men  to  go 
to  work  at  the  construction  camps  at  Croton  Falls  and 
Brewster,  to  do  piciv  and  shovel  work  and  receive  $1.50 
in  return,  a  commissary  being  furnished  where  they  could 
purchase  their  food,  and  buildings  provided,  called  shacks, 
where  they  could  sleep.  At  that  time  I  had  great  difficulty 
in  getting  men.  If  I  had  an  order  for  twenty,  I  was  for- 
tunate if  I  secured  eight  or  ten,  and  only  these  after  much 
effort.  I  found  very  few  men  who  were  really  capable  of 
doing  the  work.  I  found  others  who  simply  refused,  ask- 
ing me  why  I  did  not  do  the  work  myself. 

"Now,  however,  winter  is  here  and  another  picture 
is  presented  to  us.  Then  the  Municipal  Lodging  House 
housed  97  lodgers ;  now  it  must  provide  for  over  800.  Then 
business  was  good ;  now  everything  is  closed.  Shipping  is 
tied  up ;  farming  is  over ;  construction  work  finished ;  many 
trades  closed  down  or  running  half  time;  summer  resorts 
deserted ;  country  districts  and  smaller  cities  sending  in 
their  quotas  of  men  to  the  big  centers  of  industry  like  New 
York — everything  cjuiet  or  at  a  standstill  and  we  have 
nothing  to  offer.  .  .  .  Now,  when  everything  is  dull, 
when  good  mechanics,  when  industrious  honest  men  are  beg- 
ging us  for  work,  stating  they  are  willing  to  do  dishwashing, 
laboring  work — anything — to  work  even  for  their  board  for 
the  winter  months,  we  have  nothing  to  offer." 

Some  trades  are  always  over-supplied  with  labor,  largely 
because  the  work  is  comparatively  easy  and  may  be  done  by 
men  who  are  disqualified  for  more  important  or  difficult  tasks, 
as  well  as  by  boys.  For  example,  there  are  usually  more  ele- 
vator men,  porters,  dish-washers,  and  waiters  than  there  is  de- 
mand for  them. 

Probably  the  most  worthy  men  who  come  to  the  wood- 
yard,  so  far  as  character  and  habits  are  concerned,  are  immi- 
grants who  do'  not  know  where  to  find  work.  Many  of  them 
cannot  speak  enough  English  to  understand  directions,  and  not 
infrequently  they  are  so  unfamiliar  with  the  city  and  the  state 
in  which  they  are  residing  that  they  do  not  know  what  to  do, 
even  after  they  have  received  instructions.  The  question  as 
to  whether  we  should  restrict  immigration  is  not  answered  by 


Based  on  Exmnination  of  One  Hundred  Men  yy 

stating  how  much  land  we  have  in  the  United  States,  but  by 
answering  the  question  whether  those  who  come  to  us  are  being 
assimilated  without  too  great  a  cost.  It  may  one  day  be  dis- 
covered that  too  much  immigration  is  liable  greatly  to  affect  the 
problem  of  immigration,  not  only  because  the  immigrant  often 
finds  it  hard  to  get  steady  work  and  easier  to  make  a  living  by 
begging,  or  working  upon  people's  sympathies,  but  because  some 
of  them  were  vagrants  when  they  were  in  Europe,  and  were 
driven  to  America  by  laws  operating  against  them  there. 

Often  these  ignorant  foreigners  are  given  a  miserable  job 
at  starvation  wages,  and  run  away,  not  knowing  where  they  are 
going.  They  are  arrested,  or  helped  by  kind-hearted  people,  or 
possibly  find  other  employment  no  better  than  the  first,  until 
at  last  they  have  picked  up  a  slight  knowledge  of  tlie  English 
language.  By  this  time  they  have  acquired  a  preference  for  3, 
roving  life,  which  they  have  found  quite  tolerable.  Much  is 
being  done  to  inform  foreigners  regarding  suitable  employment, 
but  it  is  far  from  enough  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  three-quarters 
of  a  million  of  the  foreign-born  who  come  to  this  country  every 
year. 

It  seems  to  be  human  nature  to  take  advantage  of  a  man's 
dependence.  The  moment  one  man  becomes  wholly  dependent 
upon  another  for  his  living,  he  will  find  his  wage  reduced  to 
the  very  lowest  amount  that  will  keep  him  in  working  condition, 
in  the  large  majority  of  cases.  Of  the  many  illustrations  of  this 
fact  perhaps  none  is  more  striking  than  the  treatment  which 
foreigners  often  receive  at  the  hands  of  farmers,  to  whom  they 
are  sent  soon  after  reaching  this  country.  One  example  will 
be  sufificient. 

A  stalwart  Dane  of  twenty-six  was  sent  to  a  farmer  in 
Pennsylvania.  This  immigrant  was  an  honest,  hard-working 
man,  as  we  learned  from  experience  with  him  at  the  woodyard. 
Two  weeks  later  he  wrote  the  following  letter: 

"Dear  Mr.  Laubach: 

"I  hope  you  have  got  my  postcard  all  right.  Today 
is  Sunday,  and  I  will  send  you  a  few  words  how  things 
is  getting  along  here — not  very  fine  after  all.    When  I  come 


78  Why  There  Arc  I'agrants  —  A  Study 

here  he  told  me  that  as  I  was  not  used  to  American  learn- 
ing, he  could  only  pay  me  a  little.  Last  Wednesday  he 
told  me  that  before  spring  he  could  not  pay  me  any  money, 
but  would  give  me  some  boots  and  working  clothes,  so  I 
told  him  that  I  would  leave,  but  when  I  was  dressed  he 
called  me  back  again  and  said  that  from  the  first  of  Febru- 
ary, he  would  pay  me  $10  a  month  and  board  and  lodging. 
And  what  should  I  do — he  know  that  I  am  poor  and  have 
no  money  to  pay  my  fare  back  to  New  York  again,  so  he 
thinks  that  he  can  do  everything  with  me  that  he  like.  He 
can't  get  an  American  to  work  for  him,  therefore,  he  has 
men  from  the  Emigration.  We  work  from  five  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  from  eight  to  nine  o'clock  at  night,  and 
nobody  will  stand  that  except  newly  arrived  immigrants. 
Well,  Mr.  Laubach,  you  can't  help  that,  and  I  am  very 
thankful  for  what  you  have  done  for  me,  as  soon  as  I  get 
money  I  will  send  you  the  two  and  one-half  dollars  I  owe 
you  after  all  the  last  of  February. 

"I  know  very  well  New  York  is  not  very  good  in  the 
winter  time,  but  there  I  have  the  chance  to  look  out  for  work 
every  morning,  and  some  day  a  job  may  turn  up.  In  the 
meantime  the  work  in  the  woodyard  would  let  me  live  and 
have  a  roof  over  my  head.  Do  not  think  that  I  am  afraid  for 
the  hard  work  here,  that  is  not  the  thing,  but  I  will  have 
to  keep  warm  clothes,  long  boots,  gloves,  etc.,  so  this  little 
wages  will  easy  go  to  that. 

"And  another  thing  as  I  not  have  told  you  is  that  I 
am  engaged  to  a  young  girl  of  a  good  family  in  England, 
and  she  wants  to  come  over  here  to  me.  Of  course,  I  have 
not  told  her  that  I  am  at  present  so  bad  situated,  but 
promised  her  to  send  her  a  passenger  ticket  as  soon  as  I 
could.  I  have  a  letter  from  her  telling  me  that  her  father 
will  give  us  everything,  linen,  etc.,  for  a  household  and  £50, 
about  $250  in  American  money.  I  have  wrote  to  my  father- 
in-law  and  my  girl  that  times  is  bad  here  at  present,  so  we 
must  wait  two  spring  times,  .  .  .  You  understand  that 
Em  going  to  save  every  cent  until  I  can  send  her  the  fare, 
$40,  and,  therefore  I  want  a  job  where  I  can  earn  some- 
thing, and  beg  you  to  remember  me  if  you  have  anything 
better  than  this  I  have  now.  My  girl  is  working  now  in 
England  as  housemaid,  and  when  she  comes  we  will  marry 
and  take  a  job  together. 


Based  on  Exawination  of  Our  Uundrcd  Men  79 

"Now  Mr.  Laubach,  please  let  me  have  a  letter  from 
vou  what  vou  mean  about  staying  here  or  go^-'^^j!"  f^^ 
York  and  I  hope  vou  have  a  good  Christmas.  Here  we 
was  working  as^ll  other  days.  For  the  first  t.me  n.  my 
life  I  worked  on  Christmas  night. 

"I  am  always  . 

"Yours  sincerely 

I  sent  mv  Danish  friend  money  to  return,  and  placed  him 
on  another  farm,  whose  owner  I  knew  by  reputation.  1  h e 
young  man  so  pleased  his  employer  that  money  was  advanced 
L     nable  the  English  lass  to  come  to  America  and  he  p  take 

°r  of  he  farm  It  was  a  great  day  when  the  proud  D^me 
Zl  :L  sweetheart  at  Ellis  Island  and  carried  her  off  to  the. 
new  home.  He  was  a  fortunate  foreigner,  but  if  Ik  had  no 
known  the  English  language  or  had  run  away   ^--  ^.s  fir^ 

employer,  instead  of  taking  the  manly  course  he  did,  his  story 

would  have  been  different.  •     ,     ,      „f    fnr 

The   exploitation   of   unskilled   labor,   particularly   of    for- 
eigners, bv  employment  agencies,  is  notorious.   There  are  numer 
c^s  accusations  by  men  that  employment  agencies  are  in    eague 
w   h  fake  employers,  who  keep  their  employees  a  week  and  then 
^i^.     g    them  on  some  pretext,  in  order  to  enable  the  employ- 
men    agencies  to  get  fees  for  the  same  jobs  from  other  appli- 
ed"      Th  re  are  authenticated  instances  of  employment  agents 
wCare  also  operators  of  commissaries.     There  is  in  such  a 
"uat  on  the  strongest  luotive  for  making  conditions  so  oppre  - 
e    hat  men  wilHeave  their  jobs  and  make  room  for  others. 
Th  s  i    preci-lv  what  scores  of  men  have  told  me  they  are  con- 
y^ce     is  leing  done.     There  is  usually  not  so  much  complaint 
b^  working  conditions  on  railroad  or  public  construe  ion  job. 
tutL  men  are  unanimous  in  their  condemnation  of  the  pa- 
dr  ne  svstem  on  state  highway  construction  jobs  and  connec    d 
. -th  one  railroad  in  particular.    Exorbitant  prices,  spoiled^  dried 
p    or  wormv  foods,  dishonest  weights  and  measures  and  pad- 
L  the  bills"  are  among  the  charges  most  frequently  heard^  A 
ir^      H    Larson  says,  it  seems  that  "The  concentrated  efforts 
o     the  padrone  and  his  agents  are  directed  toward  gettmg  as 


8o  Jl'Iiy  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

large  a  percentage  of  the  men's  earnings  as  they  can  and  give 
the  least  possible  returns." 

There  are  two  theories  about  the  best  paying  way  to  treat 
a  horse.  The  first  is  to  take  excellent  care  of  him  so  that  he  will 
last  as  long  as  possible.  The  second  is  to  use  him  as  hard  as 
possible  and  sell  him  as  soon  as  he  is  broken  down.  In  the 
treatment  of  men  the  same  theories  are  put  into  practice.  If 
those  employers  who  believe  in  driving  men  until  they  are  ex- 
hausted were  less  numerous  there  would  be  fewer  vagrants  than 
there  are  today. 

Ernest  Poole,"  quoting  "Cap"  Mullinbach,  says,  "It  seems 
sure  that  for  many  years  ahead  America's  work  will  create  a 
swiftly  increasing  ariny  of  wandering,  homeless  workers.  To 
keep  them  working,  to  save  them  from  becoming  bums,  I  believe 
that  we  need,  first,  a  comprehensive  system,  run  by  nation  and 
state  and  city,  of  places  like  this  (referring  to  his  own  employ- 
ment bureau),  but  vastly  improved;  great  free  employment  bu- 
reaus with  free  transportation,  to  shift  the  idle  masses  to  the 
distant  regions  of  the  country  where  employers  are  crying  for 
labor." 

The  deadening  effects  of  monotonous  toil  upon  the  mind 
are  always  to  be  noted  in  any  group  of  vagrants.  They  are 
especially  to  be  observed  in  those  who  entered  the  monotonous 
occupations  when  they  were  still  boys.  We  have  had  examples 
of  breaker-boys,  boys  from  the  cotton  mills  and  from  all  kinds 
of  factories  in  which  child  labor  is  used,  who  seemed  stupefied 
and  who  have  become  vagrants  long  before  they  arrived  at 
maturity.  Many  of  them  are  stunted  and  dwarfed  both  physi- 
cally and  mentally.  The  abolition  of  child  labor  will  undoubtedly 
reduce  the  number  of  these  vagrants. 

One  unfortunate  result  of  our  industrialconditions  is  that 
such  a  large  proportion  of  our  population  is  being  raised  up 
dependent  upon  others,  without  initiative,  unprogressive,  with 
no  ideas  of  its  own — always  waiting  upon  others  to  plan  and 
execute.     The  small  minoi-it\-  which  is  depended  upon  to  find 


'  Everybody's  Magazine,  1908,  Vol.  18,  pp.  649-59. 


Based  on  E.vaiiiiiiation  of  One  Hundred  Men  8l 

something  for  the  large  majority  to  do,  is  neither  clever  nor 
altruistic  enough  to  live  up  to  its  obligations.  Brain-work  is  done 
by  a  relatively  small  group  of  men,  who  sometimes  strive  to 
meet  their  responsibilities,  Init  who  seem  to  be  finding  the  task 
more  than  they  can  manage.  In  the  days  when  every  man  worked 
on  the  farm  and  had  to  do  his  own  thinking,  a  certain  amount 
of  practical  good  sense  and  a  healthy  sentiment  for  saving  and 
careful  business  was  fostered  throughout  our  entire  population. 
Today,  while  one-tenth  of  the  population  is  talking  about  ef- 
ficiency and  careful  business  methods,  nine-tenths  are  spending 
as  they  go,  with  never  a  thought  of  using  any  method  at  all  in 
their  affairs.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  public  school  will  be  able 
to  remedy  this  unfortunate  state  of  things.  Certain  it  is,  how- 
ever, that  this  lack  of  foresight,  this  happy-go-lucky  way  of  liv- 
ing, which  leads  people  to  spend  before  they  earn,  are  tendencies 
that  should  be  regarded  with  less  apathy.  The  dangers  of  va- 
grancy are  increasing  with  the  toleration  of  conditions  that 
create  them. 

It  is  almost  impossible  for  those  who  live  within  a  wide  mar- 
gin of  economic  safety  to  realize  how  close  the  ordinary  unskilled 
laboring  man  is  to  that  social  abyss  which  is  termed  vagrancy. 
His  income  is  not  sufficient  for  him  to  get  any  money  ahead, 
and  usually  he  is  as  far  behind  as  the  condition  of  his  credit  will 
permit  him  to  be.  When  he  has  passed  the  prime  of  his  life 
and  his  earning  capacity  has  decreased,  his  family  often  con- 
tinues to  increase.  If  he  has  any  debts  he  becomes  either  the 
slave  of  his  employer  or  of  any  creditor  or  friend  who  may  have 
helped  him  out.  He  is  a  strong  man  if  under  these  circum- 
stances his  nerve  is  not  sometimes  shaken  and  he  does  not  become 
reckless.  He  is  likely  to  make  some  false  move  which  will  injure 
him,  and  he  is  fortunate  if  he  does  not  find  himself  and  his 
family  on  the  sidewalk.  Or,  under  the  discouragements  and  de- 
privations of  poverty  it  is  so  easy  for  man  and  wife  and  child 
to  lose  patience  and  become  quarrelsome.  These  conditions  may 
easily  lead  to  the  breaking  up  of  another  family,  to  the  making  of 
another  vagrant  and  of  another  deserted  wife,  who  must  sup- 
port her  children  or  allow  them  to  become  a  public  charge. 


82  Why  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

It  is  small  wonder  that  laboring  people  should  cherish  the 
hope  that  their  children  shall  have  so  much  education  that  they 
will  not  have  to  do  hard  manual  work.  Everything  is  against 
the  laborer,  rheumatism,  bruises,  injuries,  abuse  and  constant 
peril.  Moreover,  the  long  hours,  the  low  wages,  the  exposure 
to  cold  and  heat,  aud  a  social  ostracism  by  skilled  mechanics  and 
professional  men,  cjuite  as  rigid  as  that  which  the  vagrant  suf- 
fers, do  not  make  things  easier.  His  is  an  unenviable  lot,  a  lot 
in  which  he  has  little  choice,  but  which  places  him  in  the  hands 
of  his  employers.  It  is  small  wonder  that  he  longs  for  a  means 
of  escape  for  himself  and  his  children. 

It  was  a  happy  day  for  the  laboring  man  when  the  labor 
union  brought  him  hope  of  emancipation,  not  emancipation  from 
his  class,  but  emancipation  through  his  class,  and  with  his  class ! 
It  is  a  hope  which  inspires  men  with  altruism  and  makes  the 
class  struggle  a  religion.  It  promises  emancipation  not  only  of 
the  body  but  of  the  mind,  for  it  furnishes  the  working  man 
something  to  think  about,  something  which  he  himself  can  affect 
by  his  thought,  something  of  which  he  is  one  of  the  bosses,  and 
it  transl'orms  him  into  a  thinking  individual.  It  was  a  portentous 
day  for  the  exploiters  of  labor  when  the  first  labor  union  was 
formed. 

How  real  the  influence  of  the  labor  union  has  been  in  a 
material  way  is  seen  in  the  small  number  of  union  men  who 
must  depend  upon  the  city  for  aid.  Mr.  Cook  found  that  out 
of  12,448  men  whom  he  interviewed  59  per  cent,  were  common 
laborers,  41  per  cent,  were  skilled  laborers,  and  only  7  per  cent, 
were  members  of  unions.  These  figures  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  union  movement  is  more  important  to  the  imskilled 
laboring  man  than  becoming  a  skilled  mechanic. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Vagrancy  and  Misapplied  Philanthropy 
^  If  I  were  asked  to  state  as  briefly  as  possible  the  reasons 
why  we  have  the  vagrant  problem,  I  should  say  tliat  it  is  because 
^certain  men  do  not  find  it  easy  to  get  work  and  they  do  find  it 
easy  to  live  without  working. 


Based  on  Exaviination  of  One  Hundred  Men  83 

'Economic  conditions  tend  to  drive  men  to  vagrancy.  Un- 
wise philanthropy  makes  the  life  of  the  vagrant  attractive. 
Philanthropy,  wisely  directed,  might  greatly  diminish  vagrancy. 
Foolish,  sentimental  charity,  distributed  blindly,  as  it  is  being 
done  at  present,  makes  the  real  solution  of  the  problem  difficult. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  too  much  money  is  being  expended 
in  philanthropy,  for  there  is  not  nearly  enough.  The  difficulty  is 
that  it  is  being  misdirected,  or  rather,  is  being  given  without  any 
direction  at  all,  and  the  ways  in  which  it  is  most  needed  are 
frequently  most  neglected.  Wherever  charity  has  become  or- 
ganized the  attempt  to  relieve  poverty  and  distress  is  usually 
rational  and  thorough.  The  aim  is  carefully  to  avoid  pauperizing 
men.  Those  who  refuse  to  cooperate  to  this  end  because  they 
feel  that  it  is  not  just  to  expose  the  individual  whom  they  are 
helping,  are  often  doing  him  the  greatest  injury. 

Missions  tirelessly  strive  to  lift  men  out  of  drunkenness  to 
lives  of  usefulness,  and  to  restore  to  them  self-respect  and 
hope.  Occasionally  the  power  of  religion  is  strikingly  and 
spectacularly  demonstrated  among  the  "down-and-outs".  Yet 
missions  are  employing  at  least  one  means  of  keeping  the 
vagrant  where  he  is.  Meal  and  bed  tickets,  which  are 
commonly  given  out  at  the  end  of  religious  services  at  the 
missions  to  all  those  who  have  indicated  a  desire  to  abandon 
their  former  life  and  become  Christians,  are  often  inducements 
to  remain  in  a  state  of  pauperism.  Many  men  take  advantage 
of  this  opportunity  to  obtain  food  and  lodging.  For  every  real 
convert  there  are  from  ten  to  fifty  hypocrites  who  make  their 
"professions"  for  what  they  can  get  in  the  way  of  "graft".  The 
missions  would  do  better  to  require  some  simple  work  test,  and 
thus  rid  themselves  of  these  impostors. 

Many  have  declared  that  from  their  observations,  mission 
workers  are  insincere,  because  those  in  charge  of  the  meetings 
know  well  enough  that  the  men  who  go  to  the  benches  are,  as  a 
rule,  lying,  yet  they  allow  themselves  to  be  deceived.  When 
even  the  vagrant  is  disgusted  by  such  conduct,  it  is  time  for 
missions  to  do  something  in  the  matter.  If  a  man  is  sincere  in 
his  religious  profession,   he   will   insist  upon   earning  wliat   he 


§4  llliy  There  Arc   Vagrants  —  A  Study 

gets,  and  he  will  pride  himself  in  becoming  self-supporting  just 
as  quickly  as  possible.  There  could  be  no  more  effectual  way 
of  separating  the  sheep  from  the  goats  than  to  require  every 
man  who  has  been  given  anything  by  the  missions  to  do  a  fair 
amount  of  work  in  return. 

A  number  of  vagrants  who  have  become  my  friends  tell 
me  that  they  have  used  the  missions  in  this  way  for  months,  and 
that  they  would  never  have  stopped  doing  so  if  their  hypocrisy 
had  not  been  exposed.  In  some  instances  the  exposure  of  the 
fraud  was  the  beginning  of  genuine  reform. 

H.  I.  testified  every  evening  for  more  than  three  weeks  to 
the  power  that  had  taken  drink  out  of  his  life,  and  received  each 
night  a  bed  and  meal  ticket  for  his  testimony.  Happening  to 
drop  into  the  mission  one  night,  and  hearing  this  testimony,  I 
asked  him  how  he  could  lie  to  people  in  this  way,  when  his  breath 
was  reeking  with  the  fumes  of  liquor  at  that  very  moment.  He 
replied,  "Don't  say  anything  to  these  people,  for  they  are  treat- 
ing ine  fine."  From  that  night  he  began  an  honest  fight  for  a 
clean  life,  and  is  today  sober  and  useful.  He  has  often  said 
that  he  would  never  have  stopped  drinking  but  for  that  frank 
treatment,  for  he  had  not  realized  what  he  had  been  doing  until 
someone  else  called  his  conduct  by  its  true  name. 

A  striking  illustration  of  the  feeling  of  many  vagrants 
toward  this  aspect  of  missions  is  found  in  the  following  letter 
from  a  one-time  drunken  vagrant.  It  is  representative  of  a  hun- 
dred statements  which  I  have  seen  and  heard.  It  is,  I  think,  a 
very  much  distorted  criticism,  but  so  is  the  judgment  of  vagrants 
regarding  most  things. 

"It  has  been  my  privilege  to  visit  many  of  the  various 
Missions  in  New  York  City,  and  in  my  extremities  I  was 
forced  and  glad  to  accept  assistance  in  the  way  of  a  night's 
lodging.  To  secure  such  it  is  generally  expected,  yes,  I  may 
add,  enforced  to  go  to  the  'Penitent  Bench',  confess  Christ, 
and  say  you  are  saved — not  believe  you  are.  These  are  the 
words  which  the  Leader  as  a  rule  compels  the  supposed  con- 
vert to  testify.  I,  as  one,  have  been  of  the  many  who 
have  much  such  testimony — absolutely  for  the  sake  of  ma- 
terial needs — ignoring  the  spiritual  requirements  and  with 


Based  on  E.vaininalion  of  One  Hundred  Men  85 

no  faith  in  Uicm.  The  men  comment  rcgardinj^  such  and 
admit  their  hypocrisy.  In  return  for  testimony  they  are 
usually  sent  to  some  cheap  lodging  house  on  the  Bowery, 
and  regret  to  note — cleanliness  is  not  included  with  the  scant 
comfort  afforded  in  tlouble  deckers.  If  you  are  fortunate 
enough  to  make  a  favorable  impression  with  the  Assistant 
or  Acting  ]\lanager  of  a  certain  i\Iission  on  the  Bowery  you 
may  find  accommodations  in  the  Mission  proper — you  are 
expected  to  do  a  little  work  around  the  Mission,  and  usually 
can  remain  there  for  an  indefinite  period — if  you  conduct 
yourself  as  a  'supposed  Christian' — naturally  it  is  expected 
if  you  secure  employment  to  add  your  mite — which  is  only 
right.  The  average  positions  secured  are  menial — men  lose 
their  ambition  and  accept  anything  to  keep  them  from  actual 
starvation,  as  they  do  not  receive  sufficient  substantial  food 
at  the  Mission  to  sustain  them.  There  are  many  reforma- 
tions no  doubt  to  the  credit  of  the  Mission's  efiforts  in  gen- 
eral— yet,  I  dare  safely  quote,  rare  regenerations.  They 
eulogize  those  very  few,  and  play  them  as  'gallery  heroes' 
oft'times  to  the  detriment  of  some  who  are  sincere  in  their 
struggles  to  conquer  sin.  When  any  distinguished  person, 
or  a  generous  contributor  with  a  large  assemblage  is  ex- 
pected, you  are  asked  in  a  patronizing  manner — 'Now  boys, 
remember,  good  testimonials  tonight' — (May  I  infer  not  to 
the  glory  of  God — but  to  boost  the  Mission).  Attend  cer- 
tain Missions  nightly,  and  listen  to  the  monotonous  chants 
of  testimonies.  Even  the  seeking  Christian  doubts  the  cred- 
ibilities of  such,  and  many  f^r  that  reason  absent  them- 
selves from  meetings.  Will  admit  that  they  do  good,  but 
have  failed  to  find — being  close  in  touch  and  confidence  with 
men — why  not  a  larger  percentage  of  recruits  as  workers 
in  God's  vineyard  to  the  credit  of  Missions?" 

The  missions  can  remedy  this  state  of  affairs  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  industrial  departments,  such  as  have  been  started 
by  the  Open  Door  Mission  on  Hudson  Street,  and  by  the  Bowery 
Mission.  These  get  all  the  work  out  of  men  they  dare  without 
driving  them  away.  Unfortunately  there  are  so  many  missions 
which  ask  practically  nothing  in  return  for  their  assistance  that 
that  it  does  not  require  much  work  to  scare  "mission  stifYs"  away. 
The  way  for  missions  to  put  an  end  to  "being  worked"  by  hypo- 
crites is  to  get  together  and  agree  to  set  their  converts  to  work 


86  Why  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

earning  a  living.  They  could  have  a  common  industrial  building, 
or  perhaps  make  arrangements  with  the  woodyard  of  the  Charity 
Organization  Society,  or  with  some  similar  institution,  to  give 
their  men  employment. 

Among  those  who  by  indiscriminate  giving  prevent  the  solu- 
tion of  the  problem  of  vagrancy  are  tender-hearted  clergymen, 
upon  whose  sympathies  the  tramp,  or  other  wayfarer,  may  safely 
rely.  It  is  pathetic  to  see  these  short-sighted  philanthropists  stint 
themselves  and  their  families  in  order  to  provide  for  some  rogue, 
who  spends  more  money  in  the  saloon  in  a  week  than  the  average 
minister  spends  on  his  family  table. 

A  representative  of  a  New  York  church  once  came  to  the 
woodyard  and  demanded  that  the  man  whom  he  had  sent  to  us 
should  be  given  food  and  lodging  without  being  compelled  to 
work  for  them.  To  him  it  seemed  wrong  to  ask  a  man  to  do 
anything  in  return  for  charity. 

Churches  fail  in  this  matter  in  supplying  work  for  those 
who  apply  to  them.  An  appeal  should  be  made  to  the  members 
of  churches  to  give  idle  men  work.  At  present  it  is  easier  to 
collect  a  charity  fund  than  it  is  to  induce  men  to  give  employ- 
ment to  those  in  need. .  The  truth  which  all  ministers  need  first 
to  learn,  and  then  to  preach  to  their  congregations,  is  that  the 
one  supreme  need  of  all  men  is  to  enjoy  work,  and  that  the 
greatest  danger  to  all  men  is  that  they  shall  learn  to  enjoy  living 
without  working.  The  day  that  poverty-stricken  persons  are 
given  something  for  nothing  they  begin  to  degenerate.  In  a  few 
months  they  are  often  rendered  permanently  helpless. 

The  establishment  of  that  particular  form  of  charity  which 
has  come  to  be  known  as  the  "bread  line"  has  introduced  another 
source  of  supply  to  be  drawn  upon  without  cost  to  the  consumer. 
If  the  same  amount  of  money  was  expended  upon  an  industry 
with  accommodation  for  all  the  idle  men  who  can  work,  the 
army  of  vagrants  would  diminish.  It  is  the  kind  of  giving  which 
is  likely  to  aggravate  the  condition  it  would  remedy. 

The  real  source  of  graft  for  the  professional  panhandler, 
however,  is  the  individual  on  the  street.  It  is  illegal,  and  there- 
fore hazardous  to  ask  for  money  on  a  public  highway,  yet  many 


Based  on  nxtimiiiation  of  One  1 1  undrcd  Men  Ry 

men  have  made  their  living-  successfully  for  ten  or  more  years 
by  street  begging  without  being  caught. 

Almost  every  class  of  society  is  "good  picking"  for  the  man 
who  knows  the  trick.  Young  ladies  are  especially  susceptible 
to  a  tremulo  in  the  voice  and  a  tear  in  the  eye.  Business  men 
throw  a  man  a  nickel  to  get  rid  of  him.  University  students  are 
"easy  money"  while  those  in  theological  seminaries  would  prob- 
ably not  be  able  to  sleep  for  the  pricking  of  their  consciences,  if 
they  did  not  give  a  beggar  money  when  he  asked  it  on  the  street. 
This  is  the  reason  why  there  are  more  beggars  in  the  vicinity  of 
Columbia  University  and  Union  Theological  Seminary  than  on 
the  Bowery!  Crowds  coming  from  church  are  also  especially 
open  to  appeal. 

Missions,  churches,  bread  lines,  and  charitable  individuals  in 
general  now,  as  for  generations  past,  convert  vagrancy  into  a 
profession,  just  as  much  a  profession  as  that  of  the  salesman,, 
and  requiring  quite  as  much  art.  Nowadays  it  is  called  pan- 
handling. In  many  instances  it  is  more  lucrative  than  the  occu- 
pation of  a  salesman.  I  am  personally  acquainted  with  a  man 
who  has  failed  as  a  salesman  and  has  succeeded  as  a  pan- 
handler. Begging  has  the  advantage  of  requiring  no  investment 
of  capital  except  for  old  clothes,  and  clothes  one  must  wear  at 
any  rate  to  keep  out  of  jail.  This  profession  has  a  fascination 
all  its  own.  There  is  an  element  of  sport  in  it,  the  craving  for 
which  is  satisfied  by  the  majority  of  people  in  other  ways.  I 
refer  to  the  instinct  for  taking  chances,  for  running  into  hazards. 
Of  course  many  people  look  upon  beggars  and  vagrants  as  dis- 
honorable, but  that  is  one  of  the  facts  which  a  glass  of  beer  helps 
the  beggar  to  forget. 

The  clever  vagrant  who  knows  how  to  present  his  case  often 
receives  sympathetic  treatment.  It  is  amusing  and  gratifying  to 
him  to  witness  that  condescending  sympathy  and  the  tears  of  pity 
which  fill  the  eyes  of  many  of  his  benefactors.  If  he  succeeds 
in  persuading  a  kind-hearted  man  to  aid  him,  the  panhandler 
gives  his  art  the  credit,  and  not  the  generosity  of  the  giver. 

One  man  took  me  into  his  confidence  and  told  me  that  he 
knew  how  he  could  get  three  good  meals  a  day  and  a  decent 


88  IV hy  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

lodging  twelve  months  out  of  the  year  without  ever  turning  his 
hand  to  work,  and  without  staying  in  one  place  more  than  a  week 
at  a  time,  and  proceeded  to  enumerate  the  individuals  and  the 
charitable  institutions  upon  whose  aid  he  had  relied  for  main- 
tenance. One  is  tempted  to  publish  the  list  which  he  gave.  The 
only  reason  that  this  panhandler  is  not  satisfied  with  his  condi- 
tion is  that  he  has  a  fine  wife  and  baby,  and  hopes  to  be  re- 
united with  them  as  soon  as  possible.  Drink  and  a  violent 
temper  were  the  causes  of  their  separation.  He  dreams  of  the 
day  when  he  shall  go  back  to  his  family  with  money  and  clothes 
and  a  good  reputation,  but  he  does  nothing  to  bring  his  dream 
to  pass,  the  call  of  the  life  of  vagrancy  is  sweet  to  his  ears  and 
there  is  small  hope  that  his  dream  of  a  reunited  family  will  ever 
come  true. 

A  young  man  was  heard  to  remark:  "Well,  I've  been  'stem- 
ming' Sixth  Avenue  since  two  o'clock,  and  I'm  three  dollars  to 
the  good."  Beggars  are  unanimous  in  calling  New  York  City 
an  "easy  mark". 

The  following  taken  from  the  "New  York  World"  of  March 
14,  1914,  is  not  at  all  incredible: 

"  'What's  the  charge  ?'  asked  Lieutenant  Bauer,  when 
Detectives  Fallen  arid  Bryan  led  into  Mercer  Street  Station, 
shortly  after  6  o'clock  last  night,  a  slender  young  man  who 
wore  a  fur  coat  with  a  Persian  lamb  collar  and  a  diamond 
ring  valued  at  $300. 

"  'Soliciting  alms,'  said  the  detectives,  'we  picked  him 
up  in  front  of  No.  20  East  Fourteenth  Street  a  few  minutes 
ago.  His  right  leg  has  been  amputated  at  the  hip.  He 
leans  on  a  crutch  and  asks  for  money.' 

"The  young  man  nodded. 

"  'My  name,'  he  said,  'is  Jesse  Skinner,  nineteen,  an 
actor  of  No.  84  East  Fourth  Street.  The  $8.65  in  change 
you've  found  in  my  pockets  is  the  fruit  of  one  hour  and  a 
half's  work  on  Fourteenth  Street  tonight. 

"  'My  average  earnings  are  $30  a  day.  I  employ  two 
men  for  $1.50  a  day  each  to  protect  me  from  policemen  and 
detectives.  I  give  a  poor  old  widow  $2  a  day.  She'll  have 
no  money  if  you  don't  discharge  me. 


Based  (III  Examination  of  One  llnndrcd  Men  Stj 

"  'Also  I  must  attend  ;i  rclicarsal  of  "The  Floppers"  in 
Astoria  Hall  in  a  little  while.  The  act  will  be  spoiled  with- 
out me.     Please  let  me  go." 

"  'Flopper'  is  an  underworld  term  for  a  panhandler 
who  throws  fits  and  otherwise  simulates  bodHylUs'. 

"IMagistrate  Corrigan,  in  Night  Court,  gave  Skinner 
thirty  days  in  the  Workhouse.  The  police  said  he  had  been 
there  before." 

Because  it  is  so  easy  to  make  a  living  without  working,  the 
idle  class  is  becoming  more  and  more  particular  about  the  kind 
of  jobs  which  are  acceptable.  It  is  difficult  to  induce  the  ma- 
jority of  vagrants  to  leave  New  York  City  during  the  winter  in 
order  to  take  a  position,  and  it  is  still  more  difficult  to  induce 
them  to  stay  out  of  New  York  once  they  have  left.  This  is 
illustrated  in  the  case  of  a  corporation  in  New  York  City  which 
has  sent  a  number  of  men  to  Connecticut  to  work  in  the  cotton 
mills.     The  president  of  this  concern  writes: 

"There  is  a  general  feeling  among  employers  around 
the  country  that  operatives  imported  from  the  cities  will  not 
stay  with  them.  VVe  have  sent  as  many  as  one  hundred  up 
to  our  plant  from  New  York  at  one  time,  paying  their  ex- 
penses, and  had  not  one  left  at  the  end  of  sixty  days,  as  they 
want  the  lights  of  New  York  and  will  not  remain  in  a  small 
town.  I  was  talking  recently  to  the  president  of  one  of  the 
largest  tire  companies  in  Akron,  Ohio,  at  which  time  he 
wanted  two  thousand  men  and  I  offered  to  get  in  touch  with 
the  Charity  Organization  of  this  city  and  see  what  could  be 
done  in  regard  to  sending  them  on  to  him  from  New  York's 
congested  population.  He  referred  to  the  same  experience 
and  was  of  the  opinion  that  imported  labor  is  not  to  be  relied 
upon.  The  only  way  we  have  ever  found  it  to  work  is  to 
send  individuals  who  have  shown  sufficient  desire  to  work 
and  who  have  understood  the  conditions,  but  it  is  a  foregone 
conclusion  that  if  these  idle  men,  who,  I  understand,  have 
largely  drifted  into  the  city,  would  drift  out  again  into  the 
cotton  mill  section  described,  and  would  apply  at  the  mills 
with  a  real  desire  to  go  to  work,  and  stay  at  work,  a  great 
many  of  them  would  have  no  trouble  getting  work.    .    .    ." 

Unfortunately,  the  accusation  that  idle  men  do  not  w^ant 
work,  and  will  not  take  it  if  it  is  offered  to  them,  is  true  in  far 
too  many  instances. 


90  Why  There  Arc   J'agrants  —  A  Study 

Yet  there  is  something  to  be  said  for  their  side  too.  Often 
they  are  considered  and  treated  by  employers  as  "bums",  and 
every  effort  is  made,  as  it  seems  to  them,  to  exploit  them.  If 
they  are  sent  on  farms,  their  employers  expect  them  to  do  as 
much  work  as  a  hardened  farmer,  not  realizing  that  they  are 
weak  from  deprivation  and  excesses,  and  often  they  are  given 
less  to  eat  than  they  have  been  accustomed  to  in  the  city.  Society 
seems  to  the  vagrant  to  be  intent  upon  keeping  him  in  his  present 
condition.  After  a  few  feeble  attempts  at  reformation  he  gives 
up  and  decides  he  will  let  things  drift  and  take  his  chances. 

If  the  unorganized  attempts  to  reduce  vagrancy  which  have 
been  made  on  every  side,  are  failing,  a  laissea  fairc  attitude 
would  be  even  more  intolerable.  We  cannot  retreat,  we  must  go 
on  to  greater  efficiency. 

Fifty  years  ago  charitable  institutions  worked  independently 
in  their  attempts  to  relieve  destitute  families.  Each  was  igno- 
rant of  what  the  others  were  doing.  To  avoid  a  deplorable 
waste  of  effort,  charity  workers  were  compelled  to  organize  in 
every  city  in  the  United  States. 

In  our  treatment  of  the  "homeless  man"  we  are  almost  as 
ignorant  and  careless  of  results  as  they  were  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
Beggars  are  becoming  more  expert  each  time  they  approach  an 
institution  for  assistance.  At  the  same  time  institutions  are 
compelled  to  be  more  suspicious.  Nobody  is  satisfied  with  things 
as  they  are  now  managed. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  call  a  conference  of  all 
churches,  missions,  settlements  and  institutions  in  touch  with 
homeless  men,  for  the  consideration  of  plans  for  cooperation. 
The  necessity  of  cooperating  should  first  be  made  clear  to  all 
social  and  religious  workers.  A  scheme  of  organization  which 
would  be  practicable  and  acceptable  to  all  whose  cooperation 
was  desired,  should  then  be  tried. 

Dr.  O.  F.  Lewis  suggested  a  conference  of  this  kind  in  1906, 
but  the  Joint  Application  Bureau  was  not  considered  the  proper 
body  to  call  it,  since  it  was  not  a  separate  association,  but  only  a 
bureau  run  jointly  by  The  Charity  Organization  Society  and  The 
Association   for  Improving  the   Condition   of  the   Poor.     The 


Based  on  E.vaiiiination  of  One  Hundred  Men  91 

matter  seems  to  have  faUcii  througli  because  no  inflcpcndent 
society  ventured  to  take  the  initiative,  although,  as  Dr.  Lewis 
writes  me,  he  very  strongly  believed  at  the  time,  and  still  does 
believe,  that  sufficient  cooperative  effort  in  the  city  of  New 
York  has  not  been  developed  in  the  treatment  of  vagrancy.  The 
practical  results  of  the  series  of  conferences  held  here  some  years 
ago  to  consider  questions  relating  to  the  improvement  of  hos- 
pitals, lead  one  to  hope  that  if  those  interested  in  the  problem  of 
the  homeless  man  were  to  get  together,  a  more  comprehensive 
and  effective  means  of  solution  would  be  tried.  There  seems  no 
good  reason  why  either  of  the  great  societies  mentioned  above 
should  not  call  such  a  conference.  It  might  be  called  also  by  the 
Federation  of  Churches,  or  by  the  public  officials  of  the  city 
themselves. 

The  following  suggestions  for  the  establishment  of  a  home- 
less man's  clearing  house  are  offered  by  one  whose  acquaintance 
with  the  difficulties  now  met  with  in  dealing  with  the  vagrant  has 
opened  his  eyes  to  the  need  of  applying  the  efficiency  method  to 
the    task    in    hand. 

I.  To  be  used  by  all  individuals  and  institutions. 

(a)  Make  a  publicity  campaign.  Let  every  man  and 
woman  in  New  York  City  understand  that  it  is  an  absolute 
hindrance  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  for  them  to  give 
an^jnoney  to  beggars ;  that  it  is  criminal  to  attempt  to  get 
rid  of  them  in  this  easy  way,  and  that  it  is  selfish  and 
against  the  public  interest. 

Educate  the  entire  population  to  do  one  of  the  follow- 
ing things: 

( 1 )  The  best  way — Bring  the  man  to  The  Homeless 
Men's  Clearing  House. 

(2)  Telephone  to   Homeless   Men's   Clearing   House, 
asking  what  to  do. 

(3)  The  poorest  way — Put  the  man  on  a  car  and  pay 
his  fare  to  Homeless  Men's  Clearing  House. 

Never  give  the  man  money  under  any  circumstances. 


92  IVJiy  There  Arc  J'agrants  —  A  Study 

(b)  All  institutions  which  are  now  caring  for  home- 
less men  will  enter  the  names  and  full  descriptions  of  such 
men  at  the  Homeless  Men's  Clearing  House,  with  the  guar- 
antee that  these  men  will  be  fully  provided  for  at  such 
institution.  When  discharged  the  men  are  to  be  sent  to  the 
Homeless  Men's  Clearing  House  for  further  provision  in 
all  cases. 

2.  The  reception  committee  of  the  Homeless  Men's 
Clearing  House  might  consist  of  men  only,  who  would  show 
the  utmost  courtesy.  No  effort  should  be  spared  to  make 
the  greeting  of  the  homeless  man  by  his  interviewer  as  kindly 
as  possible.  The  homeless  man  is  far  more  sensitive  about 
the  way  things  are  done  than  about  what  is  done.  By  all 
means  we  should  avoid  the  condemnation  which  has  been 
heaped  upon  the  Municipal  Lodging  House  because  of  the 
uncivil  treatment  of  poorly  dressed  lodgers. 

3.  A  careful  study  of  the  mental  and  physical  condition 
of  each  homeless  man  should  be  made.  Finger  prints  should 
be  taken  as  the  best  means  of  identification.  A  complete 
record  should  be  kept,  similar  to  that  in  Chapter  H  of  this 
book. 

4.  During  the  course  of  investigation  the  man  should 
be  kept  in  close  touch  with  the  Clearing  House  Committee. 
For  this  purpose  a  lodging  and  boarding  place  should  be 
provided  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  This  place  should  be 
homelike,  and  it  should  be  under  the  direction  of  a  man 
gifted  in  making  men  feel  comfortable.  Every  effort  should 
be  made  to  get  a  social  response.  A  piano  should  be  pro- 
vided for  those  who  can  play.  Mr.  Gilpatrick,  of  the 
Chrystie  Street  House  for  Young  Men,  tells  me  that  they  do 
not  expect  to  get  the  confidence  and  the  information  which 
they  desire  until  after  the  young  men  have  spent  a  night  of 
social  enjoyment  at  his  house. 

Something  should  be  charged  for  board  and  lodging; 
about  the  same  amount  as  is  now  charged  at  the  Bowery 
Y.  M.  C.  A. — five  and  ten  cents  for  a  meal  and  fifteen  cents 
for  lodging. 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men  93 

To  enable  men  to  pay  for  their  lodging  there  should 
be  a  woodyard,  and  for  men  not  able  to  chop  wood,  other 
industries,  such  as  broom-making,  which  is  successfully 
done  in  the  Whosoever  Mission,  Philadelphia,  or  chair- 
caning,  such  as  is  done  in  the  Industrial  Christian  Alliance 
in  this  city,  might  be  established. 

5.  After  the  committee  has  decided  on  the  best  dis- 
position of  the  men  with  whom  it  is  dealing,  every  existing 
institution,  so  far  as  is  possible,  should  be  utilized  for  pro- 
viding exactly  the  treatment  or  environment  which  they 
need.  A  certain  proportion  of  the  men  will  be  found  to  need 
only  a  jolj — perhaps  a  job  of  a  particular  kind,  and  among  a 
particular  kind  of  people.  In  order  to  furnish  such  men 
with  exactly  the  sort  of  position  they  should  have,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  be  in  touch  with  a  great  employment' 
agency  such  as  is  recommended  in  Chapter  X,  or  else  to 
have  a  special  employment  agency  for  the  Homeless  Men's 
Clearing  House.  The  National  Employment  Exchange, 
which  was  organized  by  leading  social  workers  of  New 
York  City,  did  not,  however,  accomplish  all  that  was  hoped 
for  it. 

For  the  men  who  refuse  to  agree  to  the  plan,  and  who 
have  no  other  source  of  livelihood,  we  need  institutions, 
remedial  rather  than  penal  in  nature,  to  which  they  may  be 
committed.  We  need  also  to  have  enacted  such  laws  as 
will  enable  us  to  obtain  their  committal. 

As  these  institutions  for  commitment  are  necessarily 
public  institutions,  they  will  be  discussed  at  length  in  the 
next  two  chapters. 

Another  need  which  no  existing  institution  fills  is  a 
comfortable,  cheerful  home  where  men  who  are  too  old  to 
compete  with  the  average  laborer,  may  do  enough  work  to 
pay  for  their  expenses  and  a  little  besides.  The  Salvation 
Army  Industrial  Homes  are  far  from  ideal  places  for  this 
purpose,  though  they  are  efforts  in  the  right  direction.  Such 
homes  for  old  men  should  be  in  the  suburbs  or  in  the  coun- 


^0 


94  iriiy  There  Are   J'agranis  —  A  Study 

try  where  there  is  quiet  and  freedom  from  temptation  and 
annoyance. 

6.  There  probably  will  be  found  to  exist  one  other 
need,  namely,  a  force  of  men  who  can  explain  misunder- 
standings, pour  oil  on  the  troubled  waters,  and  act  the  part 
of  apologists  for  the  Homeless  Men's  Committee.  There 
is  no  class  of  people  in  the  world  who  can  spread  slander 
and  vituperation  more  rapidly  than  the  vagrant,  and  the 
majority  of  people  are  easily  misled  by  their  misrepresenta- 
tions. This  committee  should  not  wait  until  criticism  be- 
comes oppressive,  but  should  make  an  aggressive  campaign 
of  education,  and  constantly  keep  in  touch  with  the  institu- 
tions of  the  city,  and  so  far  as  possible  with  the  public,  in 
order  to  anticipate  and  allay  all  suspicion  of  injustice  or 
poor  management.  We  must  secure  and  maintain  the  con- 
fidence of  the  entire  community. 

The  Homeless  Men's  Clearing  House  involves  starting 
nothing  new  in  New  York  City,  but  only  the  extension  of  the 
already  large  functions  of  the  Joint  Application  Bureau  at  105 
East  Twenty-second  Street.  The  efficient  Social  Service  Ex- 
change of  the  Charity  Organization  Society  at  the  same  address 
could  be  used  for  recording  names  of  inmates  of  all  institutions 
now  caring  for  homeless  men.  Its  officers  are  exceedingly 
anxious  to  get  the  names  of  all  such  men.  The  Bureau  of  Advice 
and  Information  of  the  Charity  Organization  Society  could  ex- 
tend its  already  important  advertising  and  apologetic  functions. 
The  Charity  Organization  Woodyard  could  be  adapted  to  the 
industrial  requirements  without  alteration.  The  Clearing  House 
for  Mental  Defectives  at  the  Post-Graduate  Hospital  is  eager  to 
make  a  mental  examination  of  all  vagrants  requiring  it.  The 
Municipal  Lodging  House  has  a  plant  which  might  be  utilized  for 
the  lodging  of  men  during  the  period  of  examination. 

In  the  Charity  Organization  Society  and  other  institutions 
we  have  the  beginning  of  such  a  great  clearing  house.  What  is 
lacking  is  the  cooperation  of  social  settlements,  churches,  mis- 
sions and  individuals,  who  insist  upon  establishing  rival  philan- 


rc-f>  "^    •  thropies  and  thus  defeating  the  ends  of  intelligent  charity. 


Based  on  ILi'miiinatioi  of  One  II iindrcd  Men  95 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Effect  of  Governmental  Laxity 

When  they  feel  safe  and  tliink  they  have  an  appreciative 
Hstener,  some  vagrants  are  fond  of  boasting.  One  of  the  things 
they  love  to  tell  is  the  ease  with  vvhicli  one  can  keep  out  of  the 
clutches  of  tlie  law  in  New  York  City.  The  politicians,  so  these 
men  declare,  are  afraid  to  allow  the  "Ijums"  to  be  punished 
because  the  "down-and-out"  vote  is  the  strength  of  the  "ma- 
chine". 

It  is  evident  that   vagrants  think  they  have  little  to   fear 
from  the  police  so  long  as  they  do  not  get  caught  committing 
flagrant  crime.     A  glance  at  any  park  bench  on  a  summer  day 
reveals  the  fact  that  mere  loafing  and  drunkenness  are  not  dan-- 
gerous  so  far  as  enforcement  of  the  law  is  concerned. 

L.  G.  declared  that  New  York  is  the  town  to  which  all  who 
do  not  wish  to  work  come,  because  here  they  will  not  be  molested. 
He  left  Massachusetts,  his  native  state,  he  says,  because  it  is 
no  longer  safe  to  stand  about  the  streets  of  Boston  unless  a  man 
can  give  a  good  account  of  himself,  adding,  "If  New  York 
were  as  strict  as  Boston,  there  would  not  be  a  dozen  bums  in  the 
city  by  the  end  of  the  week." 

This  last  statement  is  corroborated  by  the  Sixty-seventh 
Annual  Report  of  the  New  York  Prison  Association,  which  says, 
page  163: 

"It  is  the  opinion  of  Tramp  Officer  Barrett  that  most 
of  the  tramps  who  formerly  infested  Massachusetts  in  large 
numbers  cross  over  the  State  as  quickly  as  possible  from 
Connecticut  or  New  York  to  Vermont  or  New  Hampshire. 
The  State  can  readily  be  traveled  at  any  point  in  a  day's 
travel  over  the  road." 

If  New  York's  laisscz  faire  attitude  were  the  result  of  a 
well-considered  policy  for  the  benefit  of  vagrants  or  society  at 
large,  there  would  perhaps  be  less  to  say.  It  is  not  the  result 
of  any  policv.  but  a  consequence  of  the  complete  absence  of 
constructive  planning.    As  a  matter  of  fact  careful  consideration 


96  Why  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

of  the  vagrancy  problem  always  results  in  a  more  strict  super- 
vision. There  have  been  enough  excellent  reports  and  carefully 
developed  plans  presented  to  the  public,  but  a  block  has  been 
thrown  under  the  wheels  every  time  an  attempt  has  been  made  to 
get  municipal  or  state  action.  The  Inebriates'  Colony  in  Orange 
County  is  a  good  illustration.  Tlie  land  has  been  purchased 
and  the  foundations  have  been  dug  for  some  years,  but  it  has 
thus  far  been  impossible  to  procure  the  necessary  appropriation 
for  putting  up  the  buildings.  Until  this  Farm  for  Inebriates  is 
established  it  is  impossible  to  take  the  first  important  step  toward 
the  sequestration  of  the  most  objectionable  vagrants. 

Since  1913,  the  city  government  has  been  making  such 
numerous  and  radical  changes  that  many  of  the  nuisances  which 
we  have  so  long  endured  are  becoming  matters  of  history.  What 
is  said  in  this  chapter,  is  therefore  not  necessarily  a  criticism  of 
the  present  conditions,  but  is  merely  illustrative  of  the  ways  in 
which  the  lack  of  supervision,  far  from  helping  vagrants,  tends 
to  keep  them  in  their  wretchedness. 

Mr.  H.  F.  Cook  says  he  overheard  the  following  conversa- 
tion: 

"I  am  going  to  get  sent  up  for  six  months." 

"Don't  you  do  it.  Those  who  are  committed  volun- 
tarily are  treated  worse  than  ordinary  criminals.  Steal 
something." 

"If  I  see  a  woman  on  the  street  with  a  handbag,  I  will 
grab  it." 

"I  wouldn't  steal  from  a  woman,  but  I  would  from  a 
man." 

Here  is  a  man  so  hard  pressed  that  he  is  on  the  verge  of 
becoming  a  criminal.  The  only  thing  the  city  can  do  for  him 
is  to  send  him  to  the  Workhouse.  Even  at  the  court  he  is  liable 
to  be  refused  this  alternative  unless  he  is  willing  to  spend  six 
months  at  hard  labor  in  the  Workhouse. 

The  Municipal  Lodging  House,  it  is  true,  gives  a  man 
three  days  of  existence  without  jeopardizing  his  liberty.  After 
these  three  days  are  up  he  is  compelled  to  find  lodging  in  some 
other  way.     Everything  about  this  is  wrong.     In  the  first  place, 


Based  on  Exaiiiinatioii  of  One  Hundred  Men  97 

the  able-bodied  man_should  noi  _ba  given  even  one  day's  keep 
without  earning  it.  Some  form  of  employment  sliould  be  fur- 
nished for  every  man  who  comes  to  the  Municipal  Lodging 
House  even  for  a  single  night. 

In  the  second  place,  it  is  consummate  folly  to  send  a  man 
away  from  the  Municipal  Lodging  House  after  he  has  been 
there  three  nights  with  no  other  provision  made  for  him.  It  is 
legal  for  the  man  to  remain  three  nights,  but  if  he  comes  back 
on  the  fourth  night  he  is  likely  to  be  arrested  as  a  criminal.  Why 
a  man  should  be  a  criminal  because  he  desires  to  sleep  four 
nights  in  succession,  is  a  difficult  question  to  answer. 

Mr.  Whiting,  who  is  now  Superintendent  of  the  Municipal 
Lodging  House,  says,  in  an  unprinted  report,  it  is  necessary  to 
make  careful  classifications  of  the  different  kinds  of  men  who 
come  to  the  Lodging  House,  and  treat  them  not  as  vagrants 
but  as  particular  kinds  of  vagrants ;  give  work  to  the  able  and 
willing;  force  work  upon  the  able  and  unwilling;  provide  for 
those  who  are  unable  to  work ;  give  medical  treatment  for  those 
who  are  physically  or  mentally  in  need  of  it ;  and  see  that  the 
criminals  are  punished.  So  long  as  these  measures  are  not 
taken,  the  city  is  inviting,  ignoring  and  condoning  vagrancy. 

Mr.  Whiting's  plan  involves  a  thorough  physical  and  mental 
examination  of  each  applicant  at  the  Lodging  House.  When 
as  many  as  a  thousand  men  come  in  one  night  this  would  mean 
a  large  expense  and  many  difficulties,  but  it  seems  to  be  the 
only  possible  way  of  dealing  with  the  problem  in  an  adequate 
manner.  It  is  altogether  likely  that  if  supervision  became  so 
strict  the  number  of  Municipal  Lodging  House  patrons  would 
fall  ofif  enormously,  so  that  those  who  still  came  could  be  given 
proper  attention,  except  that  in  the  severest  winter  weather  more 
would  apply  than  could  be  taken  care  of  by  the  regular  staff. 

A  clearing  house  such  as  that  suggested  in  the  preceding 
chapter  would  be  of  enormous  service  to  the  Lodging  House. 
It  might  have  such  a  clearing  house  within  its  doors,  if  one 
could  be  certain  that  it  could  be  kept  out  of  politics. 

Sending  men  to  a  stoneyard  to  crush  stone  which  could 
be  crushed  by  machinery  more  advantageously,  as  a  repressive 


98  JJ'liy  There  Arc   Vagrants  —  A  Study 

measure  is  a  wasteful  makeshift.  If  the  city  were  to  employ 
these  men  to  do  some  of  her  work,  particularly  her  construction 
work,  and  pay  them  something  for  their  services,  the  results 
would  be  much  better  both  for  the  men  and  the  city. 

The  effects  of  our  present  prison  system  are  now  so  familiar 
that  it  is  unnecessary  to  do  more  than  mention  them  as  one  of 
the  evidences  of  the  absence  of  constructive  policy  in  the  treat- 
ment of  our  problem. 

The  city  hospitals  are  res]ionsible  for  many  vagrants,  be- 
cause, in  their  overcrowded  condition  it  is  necessary  to  send  men 
away  whether  they  have  any  place  to  which  they  may  go  or  not. 
If  every  homeless  man  could  be  sent  to  a  Clearing  House  such 
as  we  have  described  in  the  previous  chapter,  to  make  sure  that 
he  was  adequately  provided  for,  these  cases  of  vagrancy  would 
disappear.  Provision  should  be  made  to  the  end  that  a  man  should 
not  be  discharged  from  a  hospital  without  assurance  that  he 
will  have  support  or  employment  as  soon  as  he  leaves. 

The  inrperfect  execution  of  the  laws  of  New  York  City  in 
regard  to  the  sale  of  liquor  is  responsible  for  a  great  deal  oi 
vagrancy.  There  are  scores  of  instances  of  men  who  acquired 
the  appetite  for  liquor  long  before  the  law  allowed  them  to 
buy  it,  but  who  never  thought  of  obeying  the  law.  The  city 
administration  ought  to  make  a  determined  attack  upon  the  sale 
of  liquor  to  minors. 

Numbers  of  men  have  testified  also  that  they  were  ruined 
by  cheap  liquors  alleged  to  be  drugged  to  give  the  required  shock. 
One  of  my  vagrant  friends  writes  as  follows: 

"I  am  not  familiar  whether  the  Pine  Ford  Law  in- 
cludes liquor — if  so  I  would  suggest  that  a  representative 
of  that  body  investigate  certain  Italian  grocery  stores,  and 
five-cent  'shock'  houses,  and  convince  themselves  that  the 
law  is  openly  and  grossly  violated.  You  can  purchase  at 
certain  Italian  grocery  stores  for  five  cents,  a  three-fourths 
filled  half-pint  of  whiskey,  rum  or  gin.  In  the  so-called 
'shock'  or  'death'  houses,  for  five  cents  you  can  purchase  a 
drink  the  size  of  a  large  whiskey  glass — any  drinking  per- 
son can  tell  vou  the  difference  in  effect  mentally  and  ])hysi- 
cally.     I  contend  that  no  spirituous  liquor  is  beneficial  to  the 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men  99 

constitution,  yet  those  which  I  have  mentioned  should  ab- 
solutely be  prohibited ;  they  are  a  menace  to  both  health  and 
life.  I  have  sufYered  very  much  from  these  drinks  both 
in  my  vision  and  in  the  continual  contraction  of  various 
muscles.  Many  a  death  toll  has  been  counted  in  a  certain 
district  adjoining  Bleeker  Street  from  the  u.se  of  that  adul- 
terated death-dealing  drug.  This  is  not  an  exaggeration 
but  can  readily  be  proven  by  an  inexpensive  census  in  that 
one  particular  neighborhood." 

New  York  is  not  the  only  city  which  shirks  its  responsi- 
bility for  vagrancy.  Mrs.  Solenberger  ^"  says  that  "a  few  years 
ago  a  letter  was  sent  to  the  chief  of  police  of  one  hundred 
cities,  asking  them  what  they  did  with  tramps.  More  than 
half  replied,  'Give  him  so  many  hours  to  get  out  of  town'." 

It  has  been  a  common  practice  to  pay  the  fares  of  tramps 
from  one  county  seat  to  the  next  and  to  send  along  with  the 
man  a  note  requesting  the  official  of  the  neighboring  city  to 
pay  his  fare  to  the  next  county.  Of  course  this  is  exactly  what 
the  tramp  wants  done  and  exactly  what  ought  not  to  be  done. 

Mr.  O.  F.  Lewis,"  after  studying  the  effective  methods 
used  in  Europe,  makes  the  following  recommendations  for  ade- 
quate governmental  action: 

First,  We  must  deal  with  the  tramp  evil  along  broad  na- 
tional lines;  Second,  We  must  reduce  the  railroad's  trespassers; 
Third,  Make  the  cost  of  the  maintenance  of  vagrants  a  state 
charge;  Fourth,  Do  not  allow  vagrants  to  be  in  almsliouses  and 
mingle  with  the  comparatively  innocent  poor;  Fifth,  Provide 
special  officials  to  arrest  and  prosecute ;  Sixth,  Do  away  with  short 
sentences  and  idle  jails;  Seventh,  Establish  a  National  Vagrancy 
Committee;  Eighth,  Establish  a  comprehensive  form  of  free 
employment  bureau;  Ninth,  Provide  lodgings  only  in  return 
for  work  done;  Tenth,  Clean  up  the  low-class  lodging  houses; 
Eleventh,  Prosecute  all  street  begging;  Twelfth,  Provide  for 
the  education  of  young  men  between  the  ages  of  16  and  20. 


"One  Thousand  Homeless  Men,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  1911. 
"Sixty-seventh  Annual  Report,  N.  Y.  Prison  Association. 


lOO  Why  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

Mr.  Lewis  has  investigated  the  farm  colonies  for  vaga- 
bonds in  Belgium,  Holland,  Germany  and  Switzerland.  He  re- 
ports on  the  results  of  these  experiments: 

"The  great  service  rendered  by  foreign  compulsory 
labor  colonies  is  to  act  as  a  segregating  center  for  the  half 
efficient  and  intentionally  idle,  and  as  a  deterrent  for  those 
who  can  foresee  that  a  life  of  vagrancy  will  mean  frequent 
segregation  in  the  colonies.  The  European  countries  would 
not  think  of  giving  up  the  forced  labor  colonies." 

Mr.    W.   D.    P.    Bliss  '-   finds   that   labor  colonies    for   the 
unemployable    have    been    particularly    successful    in    Germanyivj 
"Labor  colony",  he  suggests,  is  a  bad  name,  for  the  reason  that 
the  colony  exists  for  those  who  are  inefficient. 

A  brief  description  of  the  colony  at  Wilhelmsdorf  will  give 
some  idea  of  all  of  them.  Tramps  who  come  here  are  not  com- 
pelled to  stay  and  are  not  driven  to  work,  but  have  the  alternative 
of  leaving  or  obeying  the  rules.  A  "Hausvater"  is  in  charge 
of  the  colony.  Religious  services  are  prominent  in  this  and 
all  other  labor  colonies.  The  soil  is  miserable,  the  inmates  of 
the  colony  are  fewest  in  the  summer  when  they  are  most  needed, 
and  expenses  are  high,  so  that  the  colony  is  not  self-supporting 
and  is  not  expected  to  be.  Conditions  are  favorable  to  temper- 
ance, good  morals  and  industry  and  a  few  men  are  rescued 
permanently.  The  colonists  are  paid  wages  (6  cents  a  day  in 
summer,  5  cents  in  winter )  and  are  expected  to  pay  for  their 
clothes  and  extras  out  of  this.  Meals  and  lodging  are  given  in 
return  for  labor.  The  religious  influences  are  such  that  several 
men  have  been  trained   for  religious  work  outside  the  colony. 

Similar  experiments  have  been  made  in  many  parts  of 
Germany,  France,  Switzerland,  and  England.  Certainly  they 
point  to  work  of  a  kind  that  might  be  undertaken  in  America 
without  opposition  from  our  sentimentalists.  The  experience 
of  Europe  is  that  these  voluntary  colonies  do  not  possess  great 
value  as  reformatorv   institutions,   but   thev  do  awav   with  all 


Bulletin  of  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  72,  pp.  897-974. 


Basal  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men  loi 

excuse  to  beg,  and  they  make  it  [xossihle  for  vagrants  to  earn 
a  large  part  of  tlieir  living. 

The  segregation  of  the  physically  defective,  inebriates,  and 
epileptics  is  a  well  recognized  principle  and  it  will  be  carried 
farther  in  the  future  than  it  has  Ijcen  up  to  the  present  time. 

To  a  practical  cjuestion  as  to  wiiat  industries  have  been 
successfully  carried  on  in  laljor  colonies,  the  ex]ieriments  tried 
by  various  municipalities  in  Eiu-ope  may  suggest  a  possible 
answer. 

Agriculture,  road  making,  house  building,  clearing  and 
keeping  things  clean  are  the  most  common  forms  of  employment 
undertaken  by  them.  In  one  colony  a  nursery  for  pine  trees, 
birth  trees,  alders,  ashes  and  Canadian  poplars  was  successful. 
In  another,  horses,  cattle  and  chickens  are  raised  and  sold.  Mar- 
ket gardening  has  been  tried  with  success  in  an  English  colony. 
In  another  labor  colony,  the  work  included  smithing,  brick- 
making,  fence  making,  shoe  making,  harness  making  and  cart- 
ing. In  another  a  great  swamp  was  drained  and  made  into  good 
land  by  means  of  dykes.  Many  men  have  been  used  to  break 
stones,  to  construct  new  streets,  and  to  dig  sewers. 

The  Berlin  Colony  for  unemployables  experimented  with 
silk  worm  culture  and  flower  cultivation  without  much  success. 
The  men  did  not  stay  long  enough  to  learn  their  trade  well.  The 
making  of  straw  wrappers  for  shipping  bottles,  of  door  mats  and 
similar  articles  also  failed.  Brush  and  broom  making  and  the 
manufacture  of  boxes  and  kitchen  furniture  have  made  better 
progress.  Joinery  work  is  now  the  main  employment  in  the 
colony. 

Cutting,  binding  and  transporting  kindling  wood  from  ad- 
jacent forests  has  also  proven  practicable.  Butter  and  cheese 
making  has  been  found  to  pay  in  a  number  of  places.  Among 
other  employments  successfully  tried  are:  basket  weaving,  bread 
making,  laundering,  gathering  of  cast  off  clothing,  repairing  of 
furniture,  collecting  bottles  and  old  corks. 

Belgium,  which  perhaps  stood  foremost  in  the  practical  solu- 
tion of  these  problems,  established  a  large  penal  colony  in  which 
all  of  the  labor  of  construction  was  the  work  of  the  colonists 


I02  IVhy  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

themselves,  the  gas  house  and  the  machines,  the  furniture,  and 
even  the  carvings,  were  all  the  products  of  the  colony.  Buttons 
of  all  kinds  were  made  there.  But  the  chief  occupation  was 
agriculture. 

Since  the  excessive  use  of  alcoholic  liquor  appears  as  a 
great  immediate  factor  in  vagrancy,  something  like  50  per  cent, 
of  our  vagrants  should  be  treated  as  alcoholics.  An  excellent 
statement  of  what  ought  to  be  done  for  drinking  men  is  found 
in  a  pamphlet  entitled,  "The  Treatment  of  Public  Intoxication 
and  Inebriety",  published  by  The  Standing  Committee  on  Hos- 
pitals of  the  State  Charities  Aid  Association,  March  i,  1910, 
(2d  Edition).     The  following  proposals  were  made: 

1.  To  establish  a  board  which  shall  have  general  control  of 
the  problem  of  dealing  with  public  intoxication  and  inebriety. 

2.  To  provide  a  graded  series  of  remedies  dealing  appro- 
priately with  first  offenders,  the  occasional  offender,  the  inebri- 
ate who  can  be  helped  and  the  confirmed  inebriate. 

3.  To  release  first  offenders  after  their  cases  have  been  in- 
vestigated without  bringing  them  to  court. 

4.  To  provide  a  central  bureau  of  records  of  persons  ar- 
rested for  intoxication,  in  order  that  the  first  offender  may  be 
separated  from  the  "rounder". 

5.  To  provide  that  a  person  previously  arrested  within 
twelve  months  may  be: 

(a)  Released  on  probation. 

(b)  Released  on  probation  with  additional  fine  to  be  paid 
in  installments. 

(c)  Committed  to  the  Board  of  Inebriety  for  treatment, 
the  commitment  to  be  indeterminate,  but  not  to  exceed  three 
years. 

6.  To  provide  a  hospital  and  an  industrial  colony  in  which 
persons  committed  may  be  treated,  the  treatment  to  include  work 
for  able-bodied  patients. 

7.  To  provide  for  the  commitment  of  habitual  drunkards 
who  do  not  appear  before  the  courts  for  intoxication  upon  their 


Based  (III  I'-xiunination  of  One  lluiulrrd  Mt-ii  lo.^ 

own  application,  or  upmi  liif  application  of  friends  or  relatives 
and  upon  proper  medical  certification. 

8.  To  provide  field  officers  to  act  as  probation  officers,  and 
investigate  all  cases  of  arrest  for  intoxication. 

9.  To  provide  for  the  parole  of  persons  from  the  institu- 
tions at  the  discretion  of  the  board ;  a  person  so  paroled  to  be 
under  the  supervision  of  the  field  officer. 

10.  To  provide  for  commitment  to  the  Workhouse  of  per- 
sons who  prove  refractory  and  do  not  yield  readily  to  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  institution  established  by  the  Board  of  Inebriety, 
such  commitment  to  be  for  at  least  one  year. 

11.  To  provide  for  commitment  to  the  Board  of  Inebriety 
of  "rounders"  in  jmblic  hospitals. 

The  recommendations  of  Mr.  O.  F.  Lewis  are  made  pri- 
marily with  regard  to  vicious,  incorrigible,  vagrants  who  do 
not  want  to  work.  The  recommendations  of  the  State  Charities 
Aid  Association  deal  with  inebriates  who  are  incapacitated  for 
work.  There  remain  the  idle  who  are  employable  and  anxious 
for  work,  but  who  are  unable  to  find  it.  They  are  not  vagrants, 
but  they  are  under  constant  temptation,  because  of  their  un- 
employment, to  become  intemperate  and  vagrant  in  their  habits. 

A  constructive  plan  for  preventing  these  worthy  idle  from 
becoming  unworthy  lies  within  the  realm  of  preventive  meas- 
ures, which  will  be  discussed  in  the  next  chapter. 

Mr.  W.  D.  P.  Bliss/^  who  made  a  careful  study  of  the  un- 
employed in  European  countries,  finds  that  governments  there 
are  very  much  more  efficient  in  handling  the  problem  than  those 
in  the  United  States. 

The  first  great  reason  for  this  efficiency  is  that  in  Europe 
a  careful  discrimination  is  made  between  the  dififerent  classes  of 
the  unemployed,  and  the  remedy  applied  which  is  best  adapted 
to  each  class  and  as  far  as  possible  to  each  man.  Germany  has 
been  so  successful  in  her  treatment  of  the  vagrant  classes  that 


"  Bulletin  of  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  76,  May,  1908. 


I04  Why  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

it  has  even  been  said  that  there  are  today  no  tramps  in  Germany, 
though  only  comparatively  recently  the  Empire  was  infested 
with  them.  This  is  doubtless  an  exaggeration,  though,  in  view 
of  Germany's  efficiency  record,  it  is  well  within  the  range  of 
possibility. 

In  the  United  States  this  classification  of  the  unemployed 
is  based  almost  entirely  on  what  is  called  the  work  test.  ^  This 
test  is  usually  made  on  a  woodpile  or  a  farm,  and  is  not  ade- 
quate. I  have  seen  lazy,  worthless  men  excel  skilled  mechanics  of 
known  ability,  because  worthless  men  were  accustomed  to  wood- 
piles, while  many  mechanics  had  had  no  previous  practice  in 
using  a  buck  saw.  Again  the  farm  fails  to  show  the  value  of  a 
city  bred  man,  who  has  learned  to  earn  large  wages  in  a  factory, 
and  by  specialization  has  disqualified  himself  for  general  out- 
door work.  You  cannot  apply  the  work  test  satisfactorily  until 
you  have  tried  the  man  upon  the  kind  of  work  he  knows  how 
to  do.  Even  then  you  have  no  clue  as  to  the  man's  trustworthi- 
ness or  temperament.  Something  always  brings  a  man  to  need. 
The  work  test  may  tell  you  what  the  difficulty  is,  but  it  is  very 
likely  not  to  reveal  it. 

In  Germany  there  is  no  need  for  the  work  test.  Every 
man's  record  is  kept  from  the  day  when  he  first  goes  to  work. 
When  a  young  man  leaves  school  and  seeks  employment  he  gets 
from  the  police  an  "Arbeitsbuch",  which  contains  all  necessary 
means  for  his  identification.  This  book  he  hands  to  his  em- 
ployer. When  he  leaves  for  other  work  he  takes  the  "Arbeits- 
buch", containing  the  date  of  his  departure,  to  his  next  employer. 
Thus  a  man  cannot  escape  from  his  record  and  there  is  every 
inducement  for  him  to  keep  it  good.  The  man  who  cannot  give 
an  account  of  himself  is  liable  to  arrest. 

There  are  also  in  Germany  citizens  called  "Armenpfleger", 
whose  duty  it  is  to  watch  all  who  are  in  danger  of  becoming 
needy,  and  help  them  before  disintegration  of  character  takes 
place. 

"Herbergen",  or  home  shelters,  are  provided  where  men  out 
of  employment  may  live  at  little  cost,  or  free,  if  they  will  do 
some  work  in  return  for  their  support.     Here  an  effort  is  made 


Based  on  E.vtiiiiiiialion  of  One  Uundi-cd  Men  105 

to  help  the  men  i,a't  work.  TcIl-iiIioiics  connect  tliesc  lodging 
houses,  and  information  is  exchanged  regarding  opportunities 
for  employment. 

The  great  triumph  of  tiermany  in  dealing  with  unemploy- 
ment is  its  system  of  Public  Employment  Bureaus.  There  are 
private  bureaus  but  they  meet  witii  the  same  criticism  which  is 
heard  in  this  country.  The  public  bureaus  have  been  so  success- 
ful that  the  trade  unionists,  who  at  first  bitterly  opposed  them, 
are  now  making  very  extensive  use  of  them.  Usually  a  buffet 
is  operated  at  the  employment  bureau  where  seekers  for  employ- 
ment may  purchase  food  practically  at  cost. 

These  bureaus  know,  from  the  careful  oflficial  records  which 
are  kept,  the  exact  worth  and  the  particular  line  of  each  man. 
Employers  have  learned  to  trust  the  judgment  of  bureau  officials. 
Statistics  show  the  great  success  which  has  attended  the  efforts 
to  bring  the  man  and  his  job  together.  In  1904,  Stutgart  was 
able  to  fill  74.3  per  cent,  of  its  applications  for  help  and  67  per 
cent,  of  its  applications  for  situations.  The  low  expense  at 
which  the  public  bureaus  are  operated  is  illustrated  by  the  fact 
that  in  Cologne  28,200  positions  were  filled  in  1904  at  an  average 
cost  of  8  cents.  Many  of  the  bureaus  charge  no  fee,  while  some 
charge  a  nominal  fee — for  example,  in  Berlin  there  is  a  charge 
of  5  cents. 

Switzerland  has  been  the  first  country  to  attempt  a  na- 
tional or  federal  system  of  employment  bureaus.  They  were 
established  there  in  1907.  Conditions  in  the  United  States  are 
so  different  from  conditions  in  Switzerland  that  the  fact  that 
the  federal  system  in  Switzerland  is  a  success,  can  hardly  be  a 
valid  demonstration  of  their  feasibility  in  this  countrj^.  Yet  it 
would  seem  that  the  United  States  has  much  more  reason  for 
establishing  a  federal  system  than  Switzerland. 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  in  Europe  to  get  people 
back  to  the  land  by  means  of  free  colonies.  Holland  has  had 
several  such  colonies  for  the  last  hundred  years,  and  while  they 
have  never  been  brilliant  successes,  they  have  done  much  real 
good.     At  one  of  these  colonies  at  Frederiksoord  there  are  400 


io6  ll'liy  There  Arc   Vagrants  —  A  Study 

families  living  peacefully  and  quietly,  though  they  lack  the  spirit 
of  progress  and  self-reliance  "which  free  men  should  have". 

Germany  has  tried  these  colonies  with  moderate  success. 
As  in  almost  all  such  colonies,  religion  constitutes  the  chief  con- 
solation and  is  a  powerful  stimulus  to  the  colonists.  There  are 
both  public  and  private  colonies,  but  the  private  institutions  seem 
to  have  met  with  the  greater  success,  possibly  because  of  the 
religious  factor. 

Subsidies  are  granted  by  various  countries  to  trade  unions 
for  payment  of  unemployment  insurance.  This  is  known  as  the 
Ghent  System,  so  called  because  it  originated  in  Ghent,  Belgium, 
in  1900.  At  the  same  time  a  plan  was  formulated  for  insuring 
non-union  men,  but  this  has  been  a  failure.  Grants  to  labor  unions 
have  given  good  results.  Through  a  special  commission  the 
municipality  or  state  makes  an  appropriation  to  the  labor  unions 
for  the  purpose  of  insuring  against  unemployment,  this  grant 
is  proportional  to  the  unemployment  benefit  paid  by  each  of  the 
unions.  France,  Holland,  Denmark,  Germany,  Italy,  Switzer- 
land and  Scandinavia  have  followed  the  example  of  Belgium, 
and  the  Ghent  system  seems  to  be  increasing  in  popularity. 

There  have  been  numerous  experiments  in  Switzerland  and 
Germany  in  state  insurance  against  unemployment,  in  some  in- 
stances limited  to  old  age,  sickness  and  accident  insurance.  In 
others  no  limitation  of  the  causes  of  unemployment  is  desig- 
nated. There  has  been  great  diversity  in  detail,  but  the  general 
principle  has  been  to  demand  weekly  dues  from  the  insured.  As 
these  dues  have  been  inadequate  to  meet  expenses,  there  has  been 
a  certain  amount  of  disguised  charity  in  the  majority  of  cases. 
None  of  the  experiments  has  met  with  favor,  largely  because 
of  the  opposition  of  the  labor  unions,  which  have  much  more 
power  under  the  Ghent  system. 

England  has  experimented  with  relief  work  on  a  large 
scale,  for  those  who  are  out  of  employment.  There  has  been 
wide  division  of  opinion  as  to  whether  this  does  more  harm  or 
good  among  the  unemployable.  Mr.  Bliss  quotes  Mr.  Percy 
Alden  as  making  the  following  deductions  from  the  English 
experiments: 


Based  on  li.vaiiiinatiun  of  One  Hundred  Men  107 

The  main  conditions  of  success  in  relief  work  are  as 
follows: 

1.  The  work  shmikl  he  really  useful  in  ciiaracter. 

2.  It  should  be  of  such  a  nature  that  any  willinj^  and  in- 
dustrious man  who  is  accustomed  to  manual  labor  can  be  em- 
ployed in  it. 

3.  Such  work  should  not  be  regarded  merely  as  a  test  of 
character,  but  every  attempt  should  be  made,  by  means  of  in- 
quiry and  classifications,  by  proper  supervision  and  superintend- 
ence, to  insure  that  a  fair  return  is  made  for  the  wage  paid. 

In  German  cities  special  work  is  given  to  the  unemployed 
every  winter  as  a  relief  measure.  This  work  is  not  intended 
for  strikers,  nor  for  seasonal  workers,  but  for  those  who  are 
rendered  idle  by  unusual  conditions.  The  employment  is  chan- 
acterized  as  "earth  work"  of  various  kinds,  and  is  not  given 
out  to  contractors  but  is  carried  on  directly  by  the  municipalities. 

The  cost  of  this  work  in  German  cities  is  somewhat  higher 
than  for  the  same  work  under  other  circumstances,  but  the  relief 
afforded  is  considered  worth  all  that  is  expended.  A  constructive 
program  for  the  prevention  of  vagrancy  will  be  attempted  in 
the  next  chapter. 


io8  Why  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 


PART  IV 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION 


CHAPTER  XI 
Measures  for  the  Prevention  of  Vagrancy. 

Those  who  would  rid  society  of  vagrants  must  place  far 
-^more  emphasis  upon  means  of  prevention  than  they  are  doing 
at  present.  Redemption,  restoration,  suppression  and  segrega- 
tion are  more  spectacular  and  require  the  fighting  of  less  power- 
ful interests  than  preventive  measures,  but  they  will  always 
prove  inadequate.  iVIr.  Homer  Folks,  speaking  to  the  students 
of  the  School  of  Philanthropy  on  tuberculosis  said,  "Not  having 
enough  hospitals  for  the  tubercular  patients,  they  did  the  novel 
thing  of  educating  the  community  to  the  prevention  of  tubercu- 
losis, instead  of  asking  the  State  for  more  hospitals."  This  is 
precisely  what  we  should  do  in  regard  to  the  homeless  man. 
If  we  begin  establishing  labor  colonies  we  shall  soon  find  that 
we  have  not  labor  colonies  enough,  but  if  we  start  on  the  pre- 
ventive side  we  shall  presently  find  that  the  need  of  labor  colonies 
is  less  pressing.  When  a  government  makes  extraordinary  ef- 
forts to  provide  for  all  the  vagrants  within  its  jurisdiction,  it 
may  get  ahead  of  them  for  the  time,  but  the  tide  of  vagrancy 
rises  until  it  fills  and  overflows  all  the  institutions  prepared  for 
it.  Private  philanthropies  discover  the  same  thing  to  be  true. 
They  never  seem  able  for  long  to  meet  the  demands  made  upon 
them.  Usually  they  attribute  this  to  the  increasingly  hard 
times,  or  to  the  degeneracy  of  the  nation. 

The  truth  is  that  new  accommodations  attract  vagrants  from 
all  parts  of  the  country.  There  are  times  when  the  vagrant 
population  seems  like  a  rising  tide  and  the  efforts  of  the  social 
worker  to  deal  with  it,  as  futile  as  sweeping  it  back  with  a  broom 
would  be.  What  is  it  that  swells  this  tide?  Why  do  we  not 
get  at  its  source  ? 


Based  un  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men  109 

To  make  a  study  of  the  causes  of  vagrancy  is  the  thing  of 
practical  importance.  It  is  necessary  for  us  to  see  clearly  what 
lies  at  tlic  bottom  of  liiis  unfortunate  social  condition,  before  it 
is  possible  to  hope  to  change  it. 

These  causes  now  lie  before  us.  The  more  clearly  we  see 
them,  the  more  difficult  the  task  of  removing  them  appears.  For 
we  must  strike  directly  at  the  iieart  of  enormous  and  powerful 
vested  interests;  we  must  run  counter  to  some  of  tlie  funda- 
mental policies  of  our  industrial  leaders. 

In  many  instances  the  thing  which  ought  to  be  done  will 
prove  impracticable  and  Utopian,  and  we  shall  have  to  rest  satis- 
fied with  measures  less  thoroughgoing  but  more  opportunistic. 

Remedies  have  already  been  prescribed  in  the  chapters  deal- 
ing with  causes  and  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  do  more  in  this 
concluding  chapter  than  to  refer  to  the  plans  there  presented. 

In  Chapter  II  it  was  found  that  drunkenness  is  the  great- 
est immediate  factor  '^  in  the  making  of  vagrants.  If  we  can 
eliminate  drunkenness  we  may  tlierefore  greatly  reduce  va- 
grancy. 

It  was  also  found  that  a  certain  proportion  of  drunkards 
cannot  successfully  be  dealt  with  unless  they  are  removed  from 
the  temptation  to  drink.  There  are  two  w;iys  of  accomplishing 
this.  The  first  is  to  take  the  men  away  from  a  community  hav- 
ing liquor,  and  the  other  is  to  take  liquor  away  from  the 
community.  The  first  of  these  two  methods  has  been  tried  ex- 
tensively, and  generally  has  proven  a  failure. 

There  are  many  institutions  which  receive  hard-drinking 
men  from  the  city  streets  for  a  few  weeks  and  seek  by  means 
of  religious  instruction  to  make  sober  men  out  of  them.  Chester 
Crest,  in  the  city  of  Mount  Vernon,  permits  a  man  to  remain 
five  weeks.  The  Keswick  Colony  of  Mercy  near  Whitings,  N.  J., 
permits  a  man  to  remain  permanently  if  he  desires.  Very  natur- 
ally the  men  soon  long  to  return  to  tlicir  families  or  their  friends, 
and  tire  of  a  monotonous  environment  of  more  or  less  jjenitent 


"The  question   of   hereditary  defect,   weakness,   or   other   inadequacy  is 
not  now  being  raised. 


no  Why  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

ex-drunkards.  For  this  reason  almost  none  of  the  men  stay 
permanently.  From  the  superintendents  of  both  of  these  insti- 
tutions I  learn  that  the  cases  in  which  permanent  cure  is  effected 
are  exceedingly  few.  So  long  as  the  men  remain  in  the  col- 
onies they  are,  as  a  usual  thing,  well  and  free  from  the  desire 
for  liquor.  When  they  return  to  their  old  environment,  where 
they  see  saloons  and  smell  liquor,  they  have  a  craving  to  satisfy 
the  old  appetite.  Inebriates  themselves  agree  with  religious  and 
social  workers,  that  the  only  way  to  prevent  the  majority  of 
hard  drinkers  from  drinking  is  to  separate  them  from  liquor 
permanently. 

Segregating  the  drunkard  from  society  is  not  only  an 
enormously  difficult  task,  but  it  does  little  or  nothing  toward 
preventing  the  rising  generation  from  producing  its  proportion 
of  drunkards. 

The  "nation-wide"  prohibitionist  claims  that  the  surest 
way  of  drying  up  this  source  of  vagrancy  would  be  national 
prohibition,  if  it  could  be  put  into  honest  execution.  The  vote 
taken  in  December,  1914,  in  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the 
proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitution  forbidding  the  sale  and 
manufacture  of  alcoholic  liquors  in  the  United  States,  which 
resulted  in  a  majority  for  the  resolution,  though  not  the  neces- 
sary two-thirds,  is  an  indication  of  the  way  the  public  mind 
reacts  to  the  problem  at  present. 

The  experiences  of  the  States  which  have  sought  to  enforce 
prohibitory  laws,  give  warning,  however,  of  the  difficulty  of 
depriving  the  masses  of  people  of  the  liberty  to  drink.  Until  we 
shall  have  a  more  unanimous  opinion  that  prohibition  is  desirable, 
than  we  seem  to  have  at  present,  particularly  in  our  large  cities, 
it  seems  wise  for  us  to  remain  satisfied  with  local  option. 

/While  the  drug  habit  is  not  now  responsible  for  a  large  pro- 
portion of  vagrants,  the  number  affected  by  it  is  unfortunately 
increasing.  It  is  widely  asserted  by  those  favoring  the  sale  of 
liquor  that  wherever  prohibition  has  come  into  effect,  the  increase 
in  the  consumption  of  drugs  has  been  prodigious.  It  cannot  be 
denied  that  this  has  been  true  in  some  instances.  The  situation 
needs  to  be  handled  promptly  and  firmly.     The  ravages  of  the 


Based  on  Exiviiinotion  of  One  Hundred  Men  1 1 1 

opium  hal)it  in  China  warn  us  that  it  might  Ijeconie  far  more 
serious  than  the  liquor  evil.  A  drug  fiend  is  usually  more  un- 
scrupulous than  an  alcoholic  inebriate,  and  more  difficult  to  cure. 

The  menace  is  fully  appreciated  by  leading  members  of  the 
medical  profession,  and  measures  are  Ijeing  taken  to  arouse  public 
opinion  to  a  sense  of  the  danger.  A  considerable  body  of 
people  who  believe  that  safety  lies  in  ignorance  of  evil,  has 
deplored  the  publicity  which  already  has  been  given  the  subject. 
However  desirable  ignorance  may  be,  enlightenment  is  our  only 
safety  in  a  land  where  legislation  is  as  sensitive  to  public  opinion 
as  it  is  in  this  country. 

Sexual  immorality,  one  of  the  causes  of  vagrancy,  is  itself 
a  result  of  other  conditions.  Often  it  is  attributable  to  improiKT 
home  training,  often  to  lack  of  instruction  in  matters  of  sex, 
often  to  bad  company,  often  to  the  reading  of  unwholesome 
literature.  It  is  coming  to  be  seen  more  clearly  every  year  that 
sexual  immorality  is  fostered  enormously  by  certain  effects  of 
modern  industrialism.  Inadequate  wages,  craving  for  excite- 
ment and  variety,  hopelessness  of  matrimony,  will-destroying 
fatigue,  all  these  urge  thousands  upon  thousands  of  girls  and 
young  men  to  immoral  lives.  Many  unfortunates  suffer  through 
life  because  their  mothers  were  compelled  to  toil  up  to  the  day 
of  their  birth,  and  then  were  not  able  to  give  them  sufficient 
nourishment.  Religion,  culture,  ethical  education,  and  legal  sup- 
pression of  vice  will  all  help  to  bring  about  a  more  wholesome 
state  of  things,  but  it  is  clear  that  the  betterment  of  economic 
and  industrial  conditions  must  first  be  realized. 

There  seems  to  be  a  widespread  feeling  that  the  dangers  of 
gambling  have  been  exaggerated.  The  opposition  to  card  playing 
is  looked  upon  as  mere  religious  sentimentalism.  Yet  it  seems  to 
me  clear  that  the  number  of  young  men  who  are  ruined  by 
gambling  is  bound  to  be  inversely  proportional  to  the  abhorrence 
on  the  part  of  the  parents  of  all  of  its  forms. 

In  Chapter  III  were  discussed  the  temperamental  character- 
istics of  the  vagrant.  It  would  be  impossible  and  undesirable  to 
standardize  people  so  that  all  of  these  temperamental  differences 
should  be  eliminated.     On  the  other  hand,  the  failure  is  often 


112  U'hy  There  Arc   J'agrants  —  A  Study 

that  society  has  no  way  of  utilizing  the  peculiar  qualities  of  its 
members.  For  example,  stubbornness  is  not  far  different  from 
the  firmness  which  has  been  praised  as  the  cardinal  virtue  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  Napoleon,  Grant,  Cromwell  and  a  thousand 
others.  Yet  modern  industrialism  is  inimical  to  stubbornness. 
Eccentricities  may  wholly  disqualify  men  for  industrial  employ- 
ment. 

Many  peculiarities  of  temperament  are  anti-social  and  can- 
not be  tolerated  in  any  social  order  without  injury  to  the  group. 
Hasty  temper,  extreme  egotism,  treachery,  filthiness,  roughness 
and  "grouchiness"  belong  to  this  category.  Some  characteristics, 
like  silliness,  stupidity  and  nervousness,  presumably  are  heredi- 
tary; others,  like  untidiness,  pessimism,  unsociability  and  vul- 
garity, may  be  largely  matters  of  habit  and  training.  Scientific 
methods  of  dealing  with  abnormal  children  may  do  much  in  the 
future  toward  making  useful  citizens  out  of  human  material 
heretofore  unsocialized.  Eugenics  may  some  day  lessen  for  us 
many  of  the  anti-social  traits.  Until  that  time  comes,  there  will 
be  social  outcasts,  temperamentally  made. 

In  Chapter  IV  on  Mental  Disqualification,  attention  has  been 
called  to  the  fact  that  there  are  abroad  a  large  number  of  the 
feebleminded  whose  freedom  is  a  positive  menace.  It  is  not  fair 
to  these  men  that  they  should  be  compelled  to  compete  on  even 
terms  with  those  who  are  normal  mentally.  They  should  be  the 
wards  of  the  state.  Even  more  important  for  society  is  the 
segregation  of  this  class  of  persons.  If  we  allow  the  congenitally 
degenerate  members  of  our  communities  to  roam  at  large  and  to 
reproduce  their  kind,  we  may  be  certain  that  offspring  will  inherit 
their  undesirable  characteristics.  The  awakening  of  public  at- 
tention to  this  fact,  adequate  legislation  and  the  provision  of 
suitable  homes  for  men  and  women  of  this  class,  are  develop- 
ments which  it  is  hoped  will  soon  be  brought  about. 

Experiments  in  industrial  education  may  also  show  us  how 
to  accomplish  better  things.  The  farmer  boy  might  not  leave 
home  to  see  the  world  and  to  work  in  the  city  if  he  saw  the 
possibilities  that  lie  in  his  own  soil.  The  industrial  worker  might 
find  a  great  deal  more  pleasure  in  his  toil  if  he  had  a  clearer 


Basc'i!  on  E.vaiiiiiiation  of  One  Hundred  Men  113 

understanding  of  the  relation  of  what  he  is  doing  to  the  whole 
field  of  industry,  and,  especially,  if  he  knew  that  he  was  being 
fitted  for  promotion  in  doing  well  the  task  before  him.  The 
"cultural"  education  of  the  high  school,  private  academy  and 
college  raises  the  self-esteem  of  a  man  who  comes  under  its 
influence,  but  unless  one  elects  to  follow  some  such  profession 
as  teaching,  journalism,  or  the  ministry,  or  has  inherited  money, 
one  is  likely  to  discover  that  his  training  does  not  qualify  him 
for  making  a  living.  The  temptation  often  comes  to  him  to 
leave  the  community  in  which  he  is  known  and  engage  in  some 
get-rich-quick  scheme,  with  the  idea  that  at  a  future  day  he  will 
return  in  a  position  to  live  up  to  his  tastes. 

Taking  it  in  the  large,  our  educational  system  is  still  under 
the  influence  of  past  centuries,  when  only  the  leisure  classes 
were  educated  and  when,  therefore,  education  was  directed 
toward  aiding  men  in  spending  their  leisure,  rather  than  toward 
aiding  them  in  functioning  as  workers  in  society.  Just  in  so 
far  as  this  is  true  the  tendency  is  for  men  to  be  attracted  by  the 
life  of  leisure  rather  than  the  life  of  service.  All  this  is  changing 
as  the  spirit  and  the  purpose  of  education  change. 

Not  the  least  of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  industrial 
education  would  be  the  freeing  of  labor  from  the  evils  of  sea- 
sonal employment.  A  man  who  knows  only  one  small  part  of 
an  industry  is  in  desperation  if  his  particular  job  stops,  but  the 
man  who  is  able  to  adapt  himself,  who  has  a  practical  knowl- 
edge of  several  branches  of  industry  would  not  be  subject  to 
the  loss  of  money-earning  opportunity  that  must  now  be  met  by 
many  laborers. 

If  young  men  and  women  felt  that  their  school  work  bore 
directly  upon  their  vocation,  they  would  be  much  more  vitally 
interested  in  what  they  are  studying,  and  there  would  not  be  so 
large  a  proportion  of  boys  and  girls  dropping  out  of  school  at 
the  age  of  fourteen. 

Those  who  are  physically  disqualified  for  work  usually  have 
three  ways  of  getting  on  which  have  already  been  discussed  in 
Chapter  V.  For  those  who  are  really  unable  to  make  tlieir  own 
living  the  state  should  provide.     At  the  present  time  there  is  no 


114  Why  There  Are   Vagrants  —  A   Study 

provision  for  the  sick  who  are  discharged  from  hospitals  without 
a  source  of  income  and  with  no  prospect  of  a  position.  The 
hospitals  are  doing  much  to  remedy  tliis  condition  of  things, 
but  the  large  number  of  men  who  appear  at  the  woodyard  every 
week,  with  proof  that  they  have  just  left  hospitals,  but  who 
are  too  weak  to  work  as  a  man  ought  to  be  able  to  work,  in- 
dicates that  there  is  need  for  much  greater  effort  in  this  di- 
rection. Men  who  are  unable  to  work  because  of  age  or  physical 
defect  and  who  cannot  prove  that  they  have  friends  who  are 
properly  providing  for  them,  ought  to  be  compelled  to  accept 
comfortable  homes  provided  by  the  state.  But  first  of  all  the 
homes  should  be  as  homelike  and  comfortaljle  and  "uninstitu- 
tional"  as  possible. 

This  second  means  of  saving  physically  disabled  men  from 
vagrancy  would  be  offered  by  some  form  of  industrial  insur- 
ance. The  laws  bearing  upon  this  matter  of  insurance  now 
being  passed  in  many  states  will  doubtless  lead  to  experiments 
which  will  substantially  reduce  vagrancy.  There  is  a  growing 
conviction  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  state  to  give  the  laboring 
people  this  security. 

The  third,  most  difficult,  yet  most  important  method  of 
saving  the  laboring  classes  from  the  evil  effects  of  temporary  or 
permanent  physical  disability,  is  to  teach  them  to  help  themselves. 
If  they  can  be  taught  the  value  of  the  kind  of  thrift  which  so 
many  country  people  have,  they  will  seldom  need  to  be  taken 
care  of  in  public  or  in  private  institutions.  While  many  laborers 
are  living  on  less  than  they  need,  there  are  many  who  are  squan- 
dering what  little  surplus  they  have,  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  thev  have  not  acquired  the  habit  of  saving.  Penny  provi- 
dent banks  and  postal  savings  banks  are  helping  many  to  become 
thrifty.  If  people  can  be  taught  to  invest  their  small  savings 
in  perfectly  safe  bonds,  they  will  have  something  to  work  for 
and  life  will  be  richer  and  happier  for  the  added  purpose  this 
will  put  into  their  lives.  The  government  might  encourage  this 
by  offering  to  small  buyers,  $io  or  $25  bonds. 

In  Chapter  VI  vagrancy  was  looked  upon  as  a  failure  of 
the  family.     This  is  not  in  any  sense  a  censure  upon  the  modern 


Based  on  Examination  of  One  Hundred  Men  i  15 

wurld.  'Ihere  has  been  long,  steady,  painful  progress  in  fam- 
ily life,  down  through  the  centuries.  There  are  far  more  homes 
today  in  which  virtue  and  usefulness  are  being  l)rcd  than  there 
ever  were  before. 

Modern  industrialism  has  introduced  new  conditions  into 
family  life,  and  to  these  we  have  not  yet  become  adjusted.  The 
congestion  in  the  great  industrial  cities  is  a  serious  menace  to 
all  the  best  in  family  life.  This  menace  shpuld  be  met  by  fear- 
less and  wise  legislation,  providing  wholesome  sanitarv  condi- 
tions at  work  and  at  home,  shortening  of  the  hours  of  labor, 
increase  in  earning  capacity,  securing  better  means  of  s])cnding 
leisure  time,  and  aiifording  ample  playgrounds  for  children. 

Schools,  trades  unions  and  churches  are  beginning  to  do 
much  by  way  of  supplementing  the  work  of  the  home.  One  of 
the  most  hopeful  tendencies  of  the  present  day  is  the  emphasis 
of  Christian  churches  ujxm  social  betterment.  This  emphasis 
has  resulted  in  the  larger  activity  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  in  the  Big  Brother  Movement,  the  Institutional 
Church,  and  the  federation  of  churches  for  the  improvement  of 
social  conditions. 

There  is  much  talk  among  conservative  church  people  that 
this  tendency  has  gone  too  far.  The  truth,  the  present  writer 
believes,  is  that  it  has  not  gone  nearly  far  enough.  The  reason, 
or  one  of  the  chief  reasons,  why  saloons  and  gambling  halls  at- 
tract young  men  in  great  numbers  is  that  nothing  else  so  com- 
pletely meets  their  social  demands.  Saloons  have  thrown  out 
every  sort  of  inducement  to  the  young  man.  They  have  pool 
and  billiard  tables,  bowling  alleys,  dancing  halls,  club  rooms  at 
a  low  rental,  free  lunches,  public  toilets,  tickers  where  news  may 
be  received,  and  tables  at  which  men  may  play  games  or  discuss 
matters  of  interest  as  long  as  they  please.  They  glare  with 
bright  lights,  stand  out  as  near  the  sidewalk  as  possible  and  are 
open  at  least  as  long  as  the  law  will  allow.  Usually  they  are 
democratic,  admitting  all  who  can  buy  a  drink  or  a  cigar. 
Thousands  of  young  men  whom  the  church  does  not  want  to 
see  more  than  once  or  twice  a   week   and   then  onlv   in   their 


ii6  IVhy  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

"good  clothes",  are  welcomed  into  the  saloons  any  time  they 
go,  with  anything  they  have  on. 

Young  men  would  not  prefer  the  saloon  if  pleasure  and 
comfort  and  ease  and  excitement  and  welcome  were  as  freely 
offered  them  by  the  church.  Already  the  institutionalization 
of  the  church  has  attracted  thousands  of  young  men  who  have 
made  the  discovery  that  they  may  actually  be  connected  with  a 
church  and  still  be  free  from  sanctimony,  cant  and  discomfort. 
This  is  of  vast  importance.  The  influence  of  such  a  church  for 
a  period  of  years  would  be  likely  to  have  a  lasting  effect.  The 
social  control  of  religion  may  be  made  more  powerful  than  all 
legislation  and  all  the  police. 

Vagrancy  might  be  called  a  failure  of  the  church  with  c|uite 
as  much  truth  as  it  is  called  a  failure  of  the  family. 

Industrial  conditions  undoubtedly  have  a  direct  bearing 
(../  upon  vagrancy.  It  is  possible  that  if  all  the  influence  urging 
men  to  the  excessive  use  of  licjuor  could  be  determined,  it  would 
be  found  that  the  fatigue  and  the  monotony  of  their  work,  and 
the  hopelessness  of  their  lives  of  unremitting  toil  had  much  to 
do  with  their  resort  to  the  overstimulating  effect  of  alcohol  which 
ultimately   incapacitates  them  for  work  of  any  kind. 

Certainly  the  men,  who  want  work  but  are  prevented  from 
doing  so  because  other  men  who  own  the  tools  with  which  they 
work  will  not  employ  them,  have  a  claim  upon  society,  which 
should  see  that  they  were  given  a  chance  to  earn  a  living.  The 
difficulty  is  more  than  simply  to  find  an  ideal  solution  to  the 
industrial  problem.  The  only  solution  which  will  ever  be  ap- 
plied is  that  which  can  enlist  the  support  of  the  greatest  eco- 
nomic and  moral  forces  in  the  country. 

As  the  pressure  of  public  opinion  increases  progress  takes 
place  along  the  lines  of  least  resistance.  Scrupulously  avoiding 
the  term  "Socialism",  legislators  are  adopting  many  of  the  more 
moderate  proposals  of  the  Socialists,  and  labelling  them  "New 
Liberty"  or  "Progressivism".  Thus  we  shall  gradually  rise  as 
a  railroad  winds  its  way  to  the  top  of  the  mountains,  if  our 
engineers  are  skillful  enough. 


Based  on  Exaiiiinalion  of  One  Hundred  Men  1 17 

Meanwhile  mucli  may  be  accomplished  in  tlie  immediate 
future  to  prevent  idleness.  The  evils  of  seasonal  employment 
are  beginning  to  be  understood  by  the  public,  and  many  em- 
ployers are  trying  to  respond  to  public  opinion  by  extending  their 
employment  throughout  the  year. 

If  we  are  to  make  a  determined  effort  to  reduce  enforced 
idleness  we  shall  need  to  do  more  than  stimulate  sentiment,  for 
there  arc  always  many  employers  who  are  very  little  affected 
by  public  opinion.  If  seasonal  emjiloyers  were  made  responsible 
for  the  time  during  which  they  allowed  their  employees  to  go 
idle,  they  would  soon  learn  to  cooperate  in  such  a  way  as  to 
keep  their  employees  busy  throughout  the  year.  Employers  must 
be  made  to  share  the  losses  of  their  employees  before  seasonal 
employment  will  stop  entirely. 

Perhaps  the  best  way  to  solve  tlie  enforced  idleness  prob- 
lem would  be  for  the  Government  to  undertake  to  keep  all  labor- 
ing men  busy.  This,  we  know,  has  been  done  successfully  in 
Germany.  In  our  great  cities,  where  the  unemployed  gather  in 
great  numbers  every  winter,  a  large  force  of  labor  would  be 
available  for  making  improvements  which  are  now  being  mad"? 
in  the  summer  months.  Drainage  work,  road  building,  snow 
shovelling,  street  cleaning,  levelling  for  playgrounds,  cleaning 
lakes  and  repairing  public  buildings,  may  all  be  done  at  a  time 
of  year  when  there  are  great  numbers  of  unemployed,  though 
efficient,  men  in  the  city. 

During  the  winter  of  19 13-14  there  were  very  heavy  snows 
in  New  York  City  and  so  great  was  ihe  dissatisfaction  over  the 
slow  progress  that  was  being  made  in  the  removal  of  the  snow 
from  the  streets,  that  the  job  was  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
contractors  and  done  by  the  Street  Cleaning  Department,  which 
hired  thousands  of  idle  and  homeless  men.  I  know  personally 
of  hundreds  of  men  to  whom  those  few  days  of  work  were  a 
veritable  godsend. 

During  the  same  winter  the  City  of  New  York  experi- 
mented with  a  municipal  employment  bureau  for  the  benefit  of 
the  vast  crowd  of  men  who  were  idle.  While  moderately  suc- 
cessful, this  effort  did  not  begin  to  meet  the  need.     While  it 


ii8  ll'Iiy  There  Arc  Vagrants  —  A  Study 

could  do  something  to  break  the  power  of  the  usurious  private 
employment  agencies,  it  could  not  cope  with  the  larger  aspects 
of  the  problem,  such  as  the  improper  distribution  of  the  labor 
supply. 

It  should  be  the  obligation  of  the  state  to  give  us  preventive 
legislation.  Much  has  already  been  done  for  union  labor  and 
something  for  unorganized  labor,  through  the  publication  of 
monthly  reports,  carefully  compiled  statistics,  the  establishment 
of  the  various  Boards  of  Arbitration,  inquiries  in  regard  to 
abuses  in  certain  trades  and  industries,  inspection  of  mills  and 
factories,  and  laws  requiring  shorter  hours,  better  wages  and 
fairer  working  conditions.  The  Workman's  Compensation  Laws 
which  are  going  into  effect  in  one  state  after  another,  will  be 
the  means  of  saving  thousands  from  the  despair  which  leads 
to  vagrancy. 

While  no  one  state  has  within  its  borders  a  sufificiently  great 
variety  of  occupations  to  employ  all  seasonal  workers,  the  United 
States  as  a  whole  has  such  vast  undeveloped  resources,  and  so 
great  a  diversity  of  climate  and  industrial  activity  that  there  is 
enough  for  every  man  to  do  the  whole  year  round  if  each  can 
but  find  the  job  that  needs  him.  The  natifin  as  a  whole  is  not 
usually  subject  to  the  annual  ebb  and  flow  of  labor  to  the  same 
extent  that  each  individual  state  experiences  them. 

The  Federal  Government  alone  can  deal  effectively  with 
these  men  who  call  no  state  their  home,  and  who  find  it  neces- 
sary for  their  peace  of  mind,  to  travel  north  and  south,  east  and 
west  like  the  migratory  birds.  Wanderlust  might  then  become 
a  distinct  advantage  to  the  nation,  as  well  as  to  the  individual. 

The  Departments  of  Labor  and  Agriculture  are  feeling 
their  way  toward  some  solution  of  the  problem.  They  are  dis- 
posed to  act  cautiously,  however,  through  fear  of  appearing  too 
socialistic,  and  they  will  doubtless  encounter  constitutional  diffi- 
culties. In  a  speech  made  at  Indianapolis,  in  January,  191 5, 
President  Wilson  declared  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Adminis- 
tration to  help  laboring  men  to  find  where  their  services  are 
required.  We  may  hope  for  legislation  to  this  end  in  the  near 
future. 


Based  on  Bxamination  of  One  lliiiuircd  Men  1 19 

The  Federal  Government  might  relieve  the  labur  situation 
in  at  least  three  ways,  as  a  bureau  of  information,  as  employ- 
ment agent,  and  as  employer. 

Bureaus  of  information  could  be  established  throughout 
the  country  as  meterological  stati(3ns  are  now  distributed.  From 
these  stations  daily  information  as  to  the  specific  needs  of  em- 
ployers in  the  various  communities,  could  be  sent  to  a  central 
bureau,  from  which  it  could  be  distributed  to  communities  which 
could  supply  those  needs. 

Still  more  satisfactory  would  be  the  operation  by  the  United 
States  Government  of  a  great  number  of  federal  employment 
agencies,  such  as  we  find  in  Germany.  It  might  be  advisable 
to  make  them  a  part  of  the  Post  Ofifice  system.  That  constitu- 
tional difficulties  could  be  obviated  is  apparently  shown  by  the 
fact  that  such  an  employment  agency  already  exists  as  a  branch 
of  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor  in  New  York  C\iy. 
Farmers  and  other  employers  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States 
may  apply  to  this  office  for  labor,  sending  carfare  to  the  laborer 
in  advance  if  necessary.  The  question  of  paying  transportation 
in  advance  has  seemed  a  difficult  one,  however.  Many  vagrants 
have  told  me  that  if  this  were  done,  the  men  would  "beat  it" 
as  soon  as  they  reached  their  destinations.  The  only  way  to 
overcome  this  difficulty  would  be  to  exercise  a  strict  sur- 
veillance over  all  men  who  apply  for  aid,  as  is  done  in  Germany. 
With  such  a  system  of  surveillance,  the  fact  that  there  would 
be  but  one  source  of  employment  or  of  labor  should  be  of 
great  advantage  to  employers  and  worthy  employees.  The  em- 
ployee would  be  encouraged  to  do  his  best,  knowing  that  his 
record  would  be  on  file  with  the  government.  There  would  be 
a  distinct  premium  on  good  behavior.  Itinerant  laborers  are 
less  amenable  to  social  control  than  any  other  class  of  persons, 
and  one  of  the  services  the  government  could  perform  for  these 
men  would  be  to  make  them  responsible  for  their  conduct,  so 
that  they  could  not  escape  from  their  misdeeds  by  the  easy  proc- 
ess of  leaving  the  city  or  the  state.  A  thorough  system  of  identi- 
fication, involving  the  photograph  and  fingerprints,  would  make 
it  difficult  for  the  transgressor  who  hoped  to  get  a  position  else- 


i 


I20  Why  There  Are  Vagrants  —  A  Stitd^ 

where  to  cover  his  tracks,  and  would  exercise  a  most  wholesome 
restraint  upon  the  members  of  the  laboring  class  who  were  crim- 
inally inclined.  This  would  also  be  of  the  greatest  advantage 
to  employers.  At  the  same  time  the  government  would  have 
opportunity  to  exercise  that  strict  supervision  over  industry 
which  the  public  conscience  now  recognizes  as  essential  for  the 
protection  of  the  laboring  classes. 

Once  the  National  Government  assumed  responsibility  for 
keeping  all  worthy  laborers  busy,  it  might  be  found  necessary 
for  the  government  to  become  the  employer  itself  during  seasons 
of  greatest  unemployment.  Since  the  passage  of  the  National 
Reclamation  Act  of  igo2  the  government  has  undertaken  the 
irrigation  of  3,198,000  acres  of  land  at  a  cost  of  $60,000,000, 
and  there  does  not  seem  any  prospect  that  this  work  of  reclama- 
tion will  cease  for  decades.  There  are  about  70,000,000  acres 
of  irrigable  land  yet  untouched  and  some  60,000,000  acres  of 
swamp  and  overflow  lands,  which  when  drained  will  average 
$100  an  acre.  In  making  these  improvements  the  government 
might  be  able  to  adjust  its  schedule  so  that  it  could  utilize  the 
labor  that  is  set  free  from  farms  and  construction  work  at  the 
end  of  the  summer.  It  is  largely  a  matter  of  recognizing  that 
human  conservation  is  quite  as  important  as  any  other  thing  the 
government  could  undertake. 

Keeping  men  busy  throughout  the  year  is  by  no  means  all 
that  is  needed.  It  is  important  also  that  the  evils  arising  from 
the  specialization  of  labor  should  be  overcome.  The  reaction 
of  human  nature  to  monotony  and  fatigue  must  be  looked  out 
for.  There  is  a  growing  opposition  to  compelling  a  man  to  labor 
until  he  is  completely  exhausted,  and  this  is  excellent,  yet  in 
some  respects  simple  monotony  is  even  worse  than  fatigue.  Fa- 
tigue uses  up  surplus  energy.  Monotony  represses  expression 
and  does  not  give  opportunity  for  that  normal  escape  of  energies 
which  is  essential  for  health  of  body  and  morals.  Overwork  is 
harder  on  the  individual,  but  safer  for  society  at  large,  than 
monotony. 

Sailors  "break  loose"  at  the  end  of  a  voyage.  Lumbermen 
indulge  in  excesses  when  they  come  to  town.     Cowboys  are  no- 


Based  oil  Exaininalion  of  One  Hundred  Men  121 

torious  for  "shooting-up-lhc-tnwn"  escapades.  The  longer  and 
tighter  the  safety  valve  is  held  down  the  more  violent  is  the 
reaction.  Some  men  can  endure  s;imencss  longer  than  others, 
but  for  all  there  is  a  limit.  This  reaction  of  human  life  to  re- 
striction has  been  called  man's  "moral  holiday".  Whenever 
work  becomes  so  monotonous  that  the  reaction  is  dangerously 
violent,  then  it  is  the  tdil  that  may  he  said  to  he  immoral  rather 
than  its  victims.  Every  man  should  have  the  right  ie)  use  his 
varied  gifts,  and  society  will  not  have  solved  its  problem  until 
every  man  gets  the  opportunity  to  make  his  full  contribution, 
to  use  himself  to  the  limit,  but  not  beyond  the  limit.  Every 
man  should  have  the  right  to  work,  and  the  right  to  variety. 

An  enlightened  public  opinion  and  legislation  for  shorter 
hours  and  better  working  conditions  are  hopeful  signs  that  we 
may  one  day  provide  for  these  necessities.  If  the  workmen 
were  given  a  share  in  the  industry  in  which  they  were  engaged', 
work  would  have  a  direct  interest  for  them,  and  lift  them  out 
of  a  dull  mechanical  existence.  Above  all,  it  must  be  recognized 
that  human  life  is  worth  more  than  large  economic  returns. 

But  this  will  take  time.  The  process  of  educating  the  public 
conscience  is  a  long  one.  Our  progress  from  year  to  year  seems 
small,  but  the  aggregate  is  very  large.  We  have  made  great 
strides  in  the  past,  and  there  will  be  equally  important  achieve- 
ments in  the  future.  Each  step  costs  the  effort  of  a  multitude 
of  men  consecrated  to  the  cause  of  human  betterment. 

The  laboring  man  can  do  more  for  himself  through  the 
trades  unions  than  anyone  else  will  do.  The  number  of  union 
men  who  become  vagrants  is  relatively  much  smaller  than  the 
number  of  non-union  men.  Frequently  men  who  have  fallen 
into  vagrancy  admit  that  they  allowed  their  membership  to  lapse 
before  they  "went  to  pieces". 

The  union  is  a  deterrent  to  vagrancy  in  more  than  one  way. 
First,  by  establishing  a  fund  against  evil  days,  the  union  is  able 
to  provide  for  its  members  in  times  of  idleness.  In  the  second 
place,  the  union  is  able  to  bargain  with  employers  on  terms  much 
more  nearly  equal  than  those  of  employer  and  individual  em- 
ployee.   The  corporation  is  not  able  to  discharge  union  men  with 


122  JVhy  There  Are   Vagrants  —  A  Study 

quite  the  impunity  that  it  discharges  non-union  men,  and  the 
union  is  able  to  make  effective  demands  for  improved  working 
conditions.  In  the  third  pkice,  the  union  can  help  to  create  pub- 
lic opinion  and  direct  legislation. 

By  cooperation  men  learn  initiative  and  independence  in  the 
school  of  experience.  Men  who  liave  improvements  thrust  upon 
them  from  sources  independent  of  their  own  efforts  gradually 
lose  self-reliance  from  disuse  of  that  faculty.  It  is  best  to  help 
the  laboring  man  to  help  himself  to  better  conditions,  because  he 
is  achieving  character  at  the  same  time. 

In  Chapter  VIII  on  Misapplied  Philanthropy  a  plan  was 
suggested  for  dealing  with  mendicants  in  such  a  way  as  to  dis- 
courage deception  without  working  too  much  hardship  upon  the 
deserving. 

In  general  the  purpose  of  philanthropy  should  always  be 
to  render  itself  unnecessary.  Philanthropy  is  failing  to  do  its 
duty  unless,  beside  its  treatment  of  individual  cases  as  they  arise, 
it  is  doing  all  in  its  power  to  improve  the  conditions  responsible 
for  distress.  This  principle  is  now  well  recognized,  and  is  being 
put  into  practice  in  such  enterprises  as  Chikl  Welfare,  Anti- 
Tuberculosis  efforts,  and -Community  House  movements,  and  in 
Tenement  House,  Poor  House,  and  Prison  reforms. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  reduce  the  sources  of 
vagrancy,  and  it  is  fairly  accurate  to  say  that  a  goi'crnmcnt  is 
successful  in  dealing  with  the  problem  of  vagrancy  in  propor- 
tion as  it  applies  preventive  measures,  so  that  punishment,  dis- 
cipline and  cures  are  rendered  unnecessary.  Legislation  is  not 
a  panacea  for  vagrancy,  but  it  is  indispensable.  It  can  never 
precede  public  opinion,  however. 

Legislation  should  endeavor  to  make  it  against  the  interest 
of  each  man  to  do  what  is  contrary  to  the  interest  of  the  group. 
Perfect  legislation  would  bring  to  pass  a  condition  in  which  every 
man  would  bless  himself  by  being  a  blessing  to  society,  and 
would  hurt  himself  whenever  he  hurt  others.  Legislation  would 
thus  become  a  very  high  art  indeed.  The  genius  of  the  Germans 
lies  in  part  in  their  ability  to  make  it  serve  the  interest  of  each 
man  to  serve  his  country.     With  our  imperfect  social  organiza- 


Based  on  Exainiiiation  of  One  Hundred  Men  123 

tion  the  great  majority  of  people  fiiul  that  it  ])ays  to  profess 
altruism  but  to  play  fast  and  loose  with  it  in  their  eonduct.  Most 
of  us  are  hypocrites  witliout  knowing  it. 

Of  course  legislation  is  not  enough.  It  is  a  poor  substitute 
for  idealism  and  morality.  Law  making  must  take  its  place  as 
supplementary  to  ethics  as  inculcated  through  social  intercourse, 
education  and  religion.  The  principles  of  honesty  and  justice 
should  play  a  far  greater  [lart  in  our  relationships  than  fear  of 
the  law.  Afifection  is  gaining  in  inii)ortance  as  compared  with 
dread,  in  each  generation.  Upon  the  higher  emotions  we  sliall 
have  to  depend  in  the  end  for  our  approach  toward  better  things. 

Morality  goes  within  and  gets  after  the  real  culprit.  Tn 
this  respect  it  stands  in  striking  contrast  to  legislation.  The 
majority  legislates  against  the  minority  and  always  overlooks 
its  own  contribution  to  the  evils  it  opposes.  Vagrants  are  produ.cts 
of  employers,  consumers,  voters,  in  short,  of  society  at  large,  as 
well  as  of  heredity,  yet  society  will  not  blame  itself  or  deny 
itself,  but  places  all  of  the  hardship  of  reform  upon  the  victim, 
where  it  does  a  minimum  of  good  with  a  maximum  of  suffering. 

To  legislation  we  may  look  with  confidence,  therefore,  only 
when  it  is  representative  of  the  convictions  of  the  majority  of 
the  eiTective  thinking  public.  It  is  well  that  legislation  is  no 
easier,  for  in  the  process  of  securing  it  the  public  is  being  edu- 
cated, and  that,  after  all,  is  the  most  important  thing  to  be  at- 
tained. Once  the  public  conscience  is  thoroughly  aroused,  we 
may  rest  assured  that  fitting  legislation  will  ultimately  follow. 

For  the  diminution  of  vagrancy  we  must  rely  upon  the 
training  of  the  public  conscience,  upon  the  strengthening  of  in- 
dividual character,  upon  the  leadership  of  men  with  the  genius 
for  effective  organization,  upon  the  insight  of  men  wiio  study 
the  larger  meanings  of  conditions,  supplemented  at  the  proper 
time  by  adequate  legislation.  It  is  the  old  way,  but  there  are 
no  short  cuts  across  the  fields  to  perfection. 

Finis. 


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128  Vita 

VITA 

Frank  Charles  Laubach  was  born  in  Benton,  Columbia 
County,  Pennsylvania,  on  September  2,  1884.  He  entered  the 
Benton  Public  Schools  at  the  age  of  six,  and  was  graduated  from 
the  Benton  High  School  in  the  class  of  1899.  He  was  gradu- 
ated from  Bloomsburg  State  Normal  School,  at  Bloomsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1901,  after  which  he  taught  in  the  Public 
Schools  of  Columbia  County  for  three  years.  He  entered  Perki- 
omen  Seminary,  Pennsburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  1904,  and  was 
graduated  the  following  year.  In  the  fall  of  1905  he  entered 
Princeton  University  where  he  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts  in  1909,  and  was  graduated  with  honors  in  this  as  in  the 
preceding  institutions.  He  spent  one  year  gaining  practical  ex- 
perience as  a  Slum  Worker  in  the  Settlement  House  of  the  Spring 
Street  Presbyterian  Church,  at  244  Spring  Street,  New  York 
City.  In  1 910  he  matriculated  at  Columbia  University  and  at 
Union  Theological  Seminary.  In  191 1  he  received  the  de- 
gree of  Master  of  Arts  from  Columbia  University,  and  in  191 3 
he  was  graduated  from  Union  Theological '  Seminary.  The 
same  year  he  became  "Social  Secretary"  at  the  Woodyard  of  the 
Charity  Organization  Society  of  New  York  City,  where  he  made 
the  study  which  is  presented  in  this  dissertation. 


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